Total Number of Tricks
by oncoming-traffic
Summary: When 17-year-old Yuuki Nao enrolled in Fuuka High School she didn't expect that a certain group of students would grab her view of life, turn it upside down, and start to shake it violently. Some OOCness. First chapters suck so vehemently you'll get blown away. Beta'd chapters: 12 through 20. You have been warned! Per reader request: ShizNat.
1. Chapter 1

**_How should I start this...? *Is my hair okay? Do I look strange?* Uh, hello, dear Mai-HiME fans! This story is my first try at fan fiction, but since I've been reading like mad these past few weeks, I decided to try something on my own. English is not my mother language and I don't have a Beta reader, so I'll kindly ask you to notify me if you find a word or phrase, which is out of place or inappropriately used. That's all, I think. Now, about this story._**

**_This takes place in an Alternative Universe... and you'll find out the rest ^^ Though I should probably point towards the main pairing in this story, which is ShizNat (I'm sorry, I'm a sucker for those two). Mind you, it won't lack other pairings, but the whole story-line won't revolve only around romance. Ah, and for those, who don't get the terminology I'm using, please tell me. I have put a glossary at the bottom of the page, but just in case... Anyways, enjoy!_**

**_Added later (December, 2010): I've started revising the chapters after some advice I received. _****_There are no big changes, I just changed some context synonyms and corrected some spelling mistakes. I don't know about the grammar, though, so I'm sorry if it's annoying._**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai HiME or anything that, uh... doesn't belong to me, I guess.**

* * *

Every event has a starting point, or so most people try to convince themselves. However, that spring morning was most certainly not this story's beginning, but only its continuation. A continuation in which Yuuki Nao had no idea she would be participating. If somebody had told said girl that she would soon be mixed up in a struggle for power, vengeance, and love, she would have just snickered and continued to file her nails without a care in the world.

Yes, Yuuki Nao was not a person who cared about what people thought of her, or about what happened in the city she lived in. After all, in the young girl's opinion Fuuka city was a dump. She could not deny that it was clean and seemingly well-run, but that was only in downtown and some of the richer neighbourhoods. John Smith ruled the parade; he was the head of the city. He called himself a democrat, Nao called him a tyrant. Why? Well, for one he had been mayor for a decade now. When it was time for elections, everybody who wanted to would put their names down for the position, unless they were restricted by age or by not being John Smith. Wasn't that a slight bit wrong? Yes. Did people care? No.

A funny human trait is that people claim to struggle to change and evolve all the time. The high school freshman had reached the conclusion – and she was sure that the mayor (who was undoubtedly highly intelligent) had done the same – that the citizens only wanted for things to go on as normal, and for the next day to be pretty much like the one before. Not that Nao cared what those idiots thought, anyway.

The lime-eyed girl was sure, though, that no-one appreciated the rise in the crime rate. Strange how everything else seemed to be right, except for the "forces of good". Nao wondered whether Smith's reasoning was that having crime is inevitable, so it might as well be organized. Small-fry were taken care of and put in prison, but the ones left simply realized they could not survive out there alone. So that was why the gangs had appeared. The gangs! Oh, how much she hated them! Those thugs who thought they owned a whole district, or even worse – other human beings… She knew that if she had the chance, she would…

Her destructive thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of screeching tires and angry yells. Nao hadn't realized how long she had been walking, for now she was only ten minutes from her high school building. What interested her more, however, was the accident that had occurred on the crossroad before her. Even though it looked like the car crash wasn't extreme, she decided to check it out – it was on her way, after all.

As she got closer, she could make out the voices of the drivers. The two men were shouting at each other while on-lookers watched with amusement, given that there weren't any casualties and the only damage was a tilted front bumper.

"What the hell? What's wrong with you, dimwit?"

"Wasn't my fault, you blind idiot! It was that blue motorcycle!"

"A bike? Bullshit!"

"There really was a motorcycle," came a voice from the crowd and a few people nodded in agreement.

"Probably a gang member!" Somebody shouted. The two men grumbled and continued arguing, while the sound of police sirens came closer and closer.

Deciding not to see the outcome of the stupid accident, Nao yawned and headed for school. What a boring way to start the morning, she mused.

* * *

The campus of Fuuka's educational facilities – hosting the district grade, middle and high schools – was like a different world altogether. Surrounded by high fences, the bars covered in well-trimmed and kept ivy, the three main buildings were separated by vast areas covered with forests, club buildings, swimming pools, and places for all kinds of sports. All in all, it was nothing like the concrete fortresses of Fuuka city – on the contrary, it was clean, full of greenery and smiling youngsters. Well… most of them were smiling. One particular loud, blond, big-busted girl was disrupting the serene picture by standing in the middle of the car park, waving her hands frantically at a lone figure sitting on a dark-blue motorbike.

"You! You come here with your loud rumbling machine and pollute our fresh air!" Shouted Suzushiro Haruka. She was panting heavily, for she had run all the way to the parking lot from the student council room. The Head Executive had obtained something like a sixth sense for whenever that despicable delinquent entered through the gates of the school with that… that… chariot from hell!

Straightening her special green school uniform (a symbol of authority) she continued with her tirade.

"I have no idea whatsoever how you continue to be left unpunished after breaking so many school rules! Honestly, delinquent, if it were up to me-" she was cut off by the rider, who was now taking her helmet off her head.

"Yeah, yeah, I would be expelled." Raven locks spilled on an 18-year-old girl's leather clad shoulders. "However since it is not up to you – and thank God – you, Suzushiro, cannot do a thing about it."

Haruka glowered at the beauty in front of her. That cool voice annoyed her, that defiant look grated on her nerves, and the inappropriate leather suit...

The Executive's purple gaze clashed with cold emeralds, and time stopped while they battled each other silently. Silence wasn't Haruka's strong point. The moment was broken and she opened her mouth to retort, aware that a few students that had been heading for the opening ceremony were now stopping to watch the never-ending struggle between the Lioness and the infamous Ice Princess.

"This year, I swear, I will get you thrown out of Fuuka High School."

The biker was now dismounting her machine, pulling a bag out of the compartment and stuffing her helmet inside. It appeared she was ignoring Haruka who, despite that, continued.

"It is unforgivable what you and your little friends have been doing. I can't prove it yet, but given the opportunity, I am going to strike and finish you! All of the times you people have skipped class, hurt a teacher's dignity, destroyed school property, established that club of yours - which I'm sure has a shady agenda – started cafeteria flights…"

"Oh, for the love of mayo and everything holy, shut the fuck up, Suzushiro!" The other girl looked annoyed out of her mind. She turned her back to the gaping blond and walked off. "And it's 'fights', loud-mouth. Fights!"

Haruka gaped after her, still not fully comprehending the 'mayo' part of the statement, but decided that right now it was far more important to vent her anger.

"Curse you, Kuga Natsuki!"

Nao cringed at the loud voice, coming from not far behind her.

_Kuga who?_

She had just reached campus and was heading for the opening ceremony, after which she was supposed to find out who she had been placed in a room with. If that hadn't been the case, she wouldn't even have bothered to come, really. She had better things to do. Like tricking men into submission and stealing their money.

* * *

Fujino Shizuru was a paragon of a student. Everybody thought so, and she believed it really was actually like that. Why then did she find it so hard to pay attention to headmistress Himeno's speech? As the president of the student council, it was obligatory for her to look attentive at all times, even as she felt her crimson eyes involuntarily search the crowd for a certain somebody.

She scanned over the student body from the platform where Himeno Fumi, the student council (which obviously included her), and the school staff were situated. Every time her gaze fell upon a fan of hers the person would blush and look away shyly, or squeal with delight. Still, she could not find… ah! There they were!

Shizuru hid her excitement, and turned her attention towards the pink-haired woman who managed the school. After all, she could not look at the object of her affections for too long – they had to be careful.

"… And as of this year security will be stricter, so I suggest, my beloved students, that you…"

* * *

"… you follow the regulations and…"

"Natsuki," Tokiha Mai nudged the girl who was sitting next to her. The effect was minimal – she only grumbled from under one of the brochures which were given to all students at the beginning of the ceremony. It served perfectly for blocking out the light, while Natsuki slouched in a chair between her carrot-topped friend and another member of her… err, Mai's club. That member – Harada Chie – had her girlfriend Senou Aoi by her side.

"Natsuki!" Mai elbowed her friend harder this time, causing the second-year student to curse and straighten up.

"What?" She asked after removing the pamphlet from her green eyes, which now glared at the source of her discomfort. Natuski then concluded that she needed to improve her trademark glare, for said source of her discomfort was not troubled by it at all.

"This is important, so listen carefully! It could greatly affect our… club activities and…"

"Yes, mother," Natsuki cut her off, causing her other two companions to chuckle quietly.

Before Mai could respond to the rude retort, she noticed where Natsuki was now looking. She was such an enigma sometimes, but when it came to that person she was both obvious and uncharacteristically sincere.

"Natsuki, you know you should be careful."

This only earned her an annoyed huff, but with great reluctance Natsuki turned her attention to the headmistress' babble.

* * *

"Another new rule is that all students are obliged to become members to a club of their liking," happily announced the lithe woman.

The crowd groaned.

_Wait, what?_ Nao was sure that this new rule was going to screw up her life.

She had no idea.

"So it's obligatory to enter a club? That's not fair, I want to watch my evening dramas," whined a girl sitting next to her.

_Oh, yeah? Cry me a river now, won'tcha?_ Nao sarcastically retorted in her mind, discreetly eyeing the girl with dislike. What was with those people? She had much more important things to do, and they were worried about their dramas.

"I think I'll check out the tennis club!" Exclaimed a boy who was getting up, excitement in his voice.

The new high schoolers were being called to the front so as to receive the keys to their new dorm rooms. Nao sneered, but decided to listen in on her peers. She had never taken any interest in clubs, and clearly needed to find out more about them Nao got closer to a group of bubbling girls and started eavesdropping.

"I heard that Kanzaki-sama used to be in the Kendo club, but now the Captain of the club is that Takeda Masashi guy," said one of them.

"I don't know… I'm not much of a sport-lover," complained another.

_I wonder if there's a club for slackers._ The lime-eyed adolescent sighed, knowing that she probably was going to get thrown out of school long before finding something suitable for her.

"Maybe you should try the Tea Ceremony club, or Ikebana," suggested a third girl.

_Or maybe not._ Nao snorted quietly.

"Oh, I know!"

Lime eyes rolled. _What ingenious idea is it now?_

"Why don't you ask the Bridge club for membership? After all, it's just a card game, it can't be that hard!" The owner of the suggestion was obviously very proud of it.

Nao was already at the front of the line to get her keys when she heard it.

_Great, that'll do. The losers probably don't even hold more than one meeting a week!_ Nao smirked. That earned her a strange look from Sagisawa-sensei, who Nao realized was standing before her and was giving her a key. The woman was dressed with a white coat and had her chestnut hair cut a bit shorter than Nao's, whose was shoulder-length.

"Um, Yuuki Nao?" She received a nod in return. "You'll be rooming with the second-year Senou Aoi. Here's the key and the number of the room."

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Nao snatched the piece of paper and key, then turned around to exit the hall.

Just as she reached the entrance, someone bumped into her back. It really was as if the entire mob of students had decided to leave at exactly the same time! Angrily, she turned around to snarl at whoever had dared to push her, but instantly held her breath when she locked eyes with the most intensely forest-green eyes she had ever seen. After a brief moment of silence the stranger, wearing the same orange uniform she was, opened her mouth and spoke with a husky and intimidating tone.

"What? You got a problem, flame-head?"

Nao narrowed her eyes and immediately spat back. "Yeah, you shouldn't push yourself on other girls without their consent, you brute."

To Nao's surprise the stranger blushed a bit at her insinuation. Nao blinked a few times, and then snickered. Regaining her composure, the beauty glared at the now amused first-year.

_My, my, scary, ain't we?_ Thought Nao, who was genuinely startled for a second before going smug again.

"Shut up and get a move on. I'll beat your ass up!" The raven-head growled.

"Okay, okay… Sheesh. Stuck-up bitch." Nao spun on her heels, exiting the hall before she could get herself beaten black-and-blue, as she knew for sure would happen if she stayed longer. She was a smart girl.

* * *

Malls were not her usual hunting ground, but she just couldn't pass up this opportunity: she had baited this animal for two weeks before he had agreed to meet with 'Julia'. Well, he had clearly shown that he was uncomfortable with being alone with her on a first date, and had insisted that they were to meet in front of a café called the 'Linden Baum'. This was situated right next to Fuuka city's biggest shopping centre.

Typing at the speed of light on her phone's keyboard in order to send another e-mail, Nao exited the huge glass building - an achievement of architectural genius according to connoisseurs, and an invaluable gift from God to the lechers. She was going to be a bit early for her 'date', so she decided to sit on a bench in front of the Linden Baum. The sun had already set, and if anyone from the school staff saw her out at this hour, she would surely be punished. She pressed the 'send' button and stared at the small screen. What to do now…? Lime eyes closed, and she let herself think of what her high school life had offered her so far.

_Bullshit, that's what,_ she concluded with an inward snort.

She was supposed to join some stupid club or she would be kicked out, which kind of sucked. Suddenly she remembered what the group of her stupid schoolmates had been talking about, and she clicked her phone's display back to life to type into the search engine 'bridge rules'. The results she got were not satisfactory at all – pages and pages of difficult rules and terminology, which she didn't get.

_Wasn't this supposed to be easy or something?_ She fumed, while reading about terms like 'advance sacrifice', 'positional squeeze', 'blitz', 'endplay', 'tempo' and 'Blackwood finesse'. This year surely was going to be one hell of a ride.

"Hey," an unfamiliar gruff male voice greeted her. Nao lifted her eyes, annoyed at first, but then realized that this might be her 'date' so she switched to 'play nicely' mode.

"Hey yourself," was her reply. The guy looked big and strong for somebody so shy on-line.

"Are you 'Juliet'?" He asked, brushing dark hair out of his onyx eyes. He acted too smug for Nao's liking, but hey - she was robbing this man. Surely she needed some added motivation.

She smirked. "And what if I am?" She drew out in a seductive tone.

White teeth flashed in a disturbing grin, and the girl almost cringed at his look.

"You heard her," he pulled a telephone out of his pocked and pressed the red receiver button.

_There goes my motivation… I'm screwed…_

Nao nervously observed a group of men – men she somewhat remembered – slowly closing in on her. Some of them came from the streets, others from the café behind her. She was being surrounded. Not realizing when she stood up, she instead started searching for an opening from which she could escape. Her throat had gone dry and each gulp of air grated in her lungs; she could not deal with so many of them!

* * *

"I'm bored! Those people haven't done anything spicy during the break!" Exclaimed a bespectacled black-haired teenage girl, sitting next to Mai at their favourite hang-out – the Linden Baum. Her blue-eyed, loveable girlfriend nodded from Chie's other side, and decided to emphasize that statement a bit by waving her arms about.

"Chie-chan's right! Almost no gossip! This is preposterous!"

Natsuki just kept nodding, watching out the window at the street, sipping from Mai's drink without her noticing. Chie leaned back in her seat and watched sadly as only a hundred photos were uploaded from her telephone to her new laptop.

"And just when I thought I would be able to write anytime I wanted with this baby and everything." The fine-looking girl sighed heavily. Life was too unfair!

"Say, Chie."

That girl turned her head to Natsuki, indicating she was listening. "Can you access the net from anywhere with your computer?"

"Yes, sure, Natsuki-kun why?" Asked Chie, a bit baffled by the sudden change of topic.

"Well, did you notice those men that just exited the café?" A nod. "They sounded like they reaaally wanted rip that fire-top a new one." Natsuki, face expressionless, pointed outside the window towards the almost cornered Nao.

"Oh my!" Exclaimed Mai. She stood up, but her hand was caught by her friend. "Natsuki! Are you just going to…?"

"No, I need you to hear the game strategy before we go out there and make a Grand Slam*," Natsuki smirked.

Mai knew that look in her friend's eyes – it meant that the game was afoot. She relaxed a bit – after all, no need to worry since Natsuki already had a plan. Chie and Aoi leaned forward and listened carefully – in the game there was no place for mistakes. As soon as Natsuki had finished speaking, the other three sprang to action: Chie exited through the back door of the café, while Mai and Aoi left from the front but separated at the entrance. Quietly watching them, turning on her Bluetooth device, Natsuki tried their connection.

"Are we ready to play, girls?"

She stood up, left some money on the table and exited the establishment. Then she headed for the bunch forming around their new high-school mate.

"Sure, Blackwood, whenever you are," came Chie's joking reply, proving that their conference link was working. Natsuki cringed at her nickname – she didn't like it at all.

"Okay, then," she said, almost smiling in her excitement. "Let's show them our attitude**."

* * *

Did Nao know any prayers? No, except for one: 'Please, God, I beg of You, kill the bastards with a lightning. A piano would work too, oh, Almighty!' And she hoped it would work, for she saw no other escape from her current situation. If she had expected something of this magnitude to happen, she would have never, ever have left her mother's womb. The guy with the toothy grin spoke, his voice sickening.

"Now that we have you cornered, Juliet, we would like to take you somewhere where you cold return us our money. In kind, if you somehow lack the finances." He licked his lips, while the others snickered.

_That's why I hate gang members. If only…_ She closed her eyes and sighed, defeated. No more punishing the evil bad boys for this little Nao…

"Oi! What're you doing with my…uh…"

_Nice one, Kuga, you thought up a whole escape plan, but you fail at this?_ Natsuki mentally hit herself.

"My friend!"

That would do for now… probably.

Acting tough wasn't hard, coming up with strategies wasn't that challenging either, but when it came to talking, Kuga Natsuki was a lost cause.

* * *

Nao almost face-palmed at the sight of the girl she bumped into this morning trying to save her sorry ass. At least she looked hot… somewhat.

Her lame saviour stood at the rim of the circle of men surrounding Nao. By-passers clearly thought that was some kind of street performance, but few of them stopped to look or pay attention. Natsuki motioned for Nao to come to her, and the red-head did so without a moment's hesitation.

"Now what?" She whispered to the dark-haired teen. The men were watching them with smiles, most likely wondering what two girls would do to stop them.

"Now…" the biker spun on her heels and smashed her fist into the closest man's face, creating a small commotion in the enemy's 'ranks' and allowing the two of them to break free from the circle.

"Now we start running like we're gonna be undertricked*** big time!" Natsuki was sprinting towards the mall like there was no tomorrow. Nao followed close behind her.

"Underwha-? Oh, never mind!"

The glass doors closed behind them, only to open a few seconds later to let the angry male mob inside.

_I'm so dead!_ The flame-head thought, closing her lime eyes and running as fast as she could.

* * *

Glossary:

A short explanation of the game:

Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game played by four players in two competing partnerships using a standard deck of 52 playing cards with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. For purposes of scoring and reference, each player is identified by one of the points of the compass and thus North and South play against East and West. The game consists of several hands (or deals) each progressing through four phases - dealing the cards, the auction (also referred to as bidding), playing the hand, and scoring the results. Dealing the cards and scoring the results are procedural activities while the auction and playing the hand are the two actively competitive phases of the game.

*Grand slam - a contract to win all thirteen tricks (hands). Bidding and making a grand slam scores significant bonus points.

**Attitude - a defender player's desire, or lack thereof, for his side to continue playing a suit. By means of signals, defender encourages or discourages the continuation of the suit.

***Undertrick - a trick that declarer does not win, causing the contract to go down. Multiple undertricks occur: for example, two undertricks could result in 4 hearts down two.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I admit, I don't like how this chapter turned out. I promise that the following are better, though! I swear in my... my... my favorite leather jacket! I know I might seem inpatient, but I must admit that the lack of reviews kinda troubles me... This could mean that either you, dear readers, have found no mistakes and have no remarks to make, or that it terribly sucked and you didn't even reach the end. So... I'm counting on your help in the future and I hope that at least you have fun reading this, as much as I had while imagining and writing it. **

**Some of the characters may seem OoC, but this has a perfectly good reason. I have finished today chapter five and as of chapter six onwards, there will be a short 'Memory Arc', which will reveal why things have developed the way they have. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai HiME. **

* * *

The watch on Mai's wrist indicated that it was seven minutes past nine p.m. She was just entering a shop for clothes and looked at the counter, where Chie was already working her magic with distracting the attendant – a pretty young woman, who clearly fancied other pretty young women. Mai could imagine quite well the look on Aoi's face, who had entered closely behind her; it could kill any unfortunate soul that happened to witness it. Partially that look was driven also by the fact that they all could hear what their bespectacled friend was saying to the shop attendant through their on-line connection. Oh, if that wasn't part of the plan, Aoi would have gone ballistic on her girlfriend right then and there.

"We're going into the fitting-rooms in the clothes store on the fifth floor," she spoke into the Bluetooth, after which she pulled the fuming blue-eyed girl with her and shoved her inside one of the fitting-rooms.

"_Got'cha,"_ replied in her ear a husky and slightly panting voice. _"Be there in three."_

_Hope this works out and we don't get offed._ Mai entered a cabin herself and started undressing.

* * *

"Don't you think the security will notice something's wrong, when they see two teenage girls running for their lives from a bunch of men?" Nao hadn't sprinted like that since she had learned that her mother had woken up from her coma. She honestly wasn't a runner. The other girl turned her head and looked behind her shoulder, suddenly stopping to a halt in the middle of the fifth floor. Yes, they had raced all the way to the fifth storey, pushing up the escalators' steps and causing people to curse after them. The older one narrowed her emeralds and looked around, after barely avoiding Nao colliding with her.

"No-one's coming," she concluded and threw a glance at Nao's direction, who was about to comment venomously on her schoolmate's unexpected reaction. Nao opened and closed her mouth a several times, before reaching the same conclusion that the other girl had come to.

"I thought they would want to corner us in a shop or something." She bent and put her hands on her knees, thus looking through the glass floor onto the storeys below them.

_Hey, wait a sec!_ Her lime eyes shot up to meet a smug smile.

"So you've noticed?" Asked her the cocky bitch, taking her baseball cap off her head and flopping it on Nao's. With an underlined gesture she pulled her hood up, hiding partially her face.

"Have I noticed what? That we're standing in the middle of a glass corridor, where everyone can see us? No, why should I notice such trivial facts?" The first-year spat, while hiding her face better with the cap.

"That's the point, you bloke," darkly chuckled the older. She silently motioned almost unnoticeably towards some of the men that were chasing them earlier, now situated at all the elevators and escalators of the floors going down.

"Stupid thugs are stupid thugs, after all. What they do best is block your way out with their broad backs. But we don't want to go out, we want to stay right on this floor," continued the older of the two and headed towards a clothes shop. Nao gave her a strange look, before going after her, noting the men following them with their eyes.

"You see, we need them to know where we are and what we're doing in order to get out. They can't approach us in such a crowd," spoke calmly the blunette as she checked the attendant's counter, where a girl their own age was flirting with a slightly older woman. Nao lifted her brow. This public worker wasn't going to be of any use to them, if they decided to call for help.

A hand grabbed hers and she was ready to shout, before she realized that the other girl was now pulling her with huge strides towards the fitting-rooms far on the back. Emeralds scanned the magazine and seeing no-one besides themselves and the shop attendant and the play-girl at the front desk, the teenager tapped three times on two of the cabins' doors. They flew open and without having the chance to react, Nao was pushed inside one of them.

She could only stare at two huge bra-clad breasts in front of her and couldn't imagine that they weren't looking right back at her mockingly, telling her that she was a lesser being.

"Stop gaping and start undressing!"

_They can speak!_ She thought amazed. Then she found out that the commanding and stern voice had come from behind the assets. Nao lifted her eyes, quite reluctantly, and they fell upon a girl with red hair a few shades lighter than her own.

"Yes, ma'am!" The first-year did as she was told. She was going to ask herself why, but she decided that now she didn't have the time for details. Those people were obviously helping her to escape from a slow and painful death and she wasn't going to question their kindness in this crucial moment.

"I'm Tokiha Mai," said the other girl, while trying desperately to fit in Nao's smaller clothes. Somehow she managed to fit in, to the other's great surprise. "I suppose Natsuki hasn't told you what to do?"

"No, I haven't." Nao jumped at the familiar voice, coming from the neighboring fitting-room. "She doesn't need to know."

Nao opened her mouth to spit some insult back, but was cut off for the n-th time that day this time by Mai, who shoved a blouse and a pair of shorts in her hands.

"Put them on, quickly," she advised. Nao sighed and started fumbling with the clothing. She grumbled some incoherent curses under her breath. This really wasn't her day.

* * *

As she was smooth-talking the attractive shop attendant, Chie mentally ran the plan from earlier in her head. Oh, Natsuki and Aoi were in a narrow fitting-room together… undressed… How much she wanted to be together with them in their near-nakedness! But, no, she was stuck here, distracting a woman with her undeniable charms. Her laptop was placed in her bag on the counter, but its settings were done so that it could still transmit and maintain their connection even when closed. She placed a black lock behind the ear, on which her Bluetooth was placed and laughed at a lame joke that the woman in front of her had told.

Chie could hear only the fumbling of clothes right now, but soon there was no sound coming from the ear-phone. Next, she registered Natsuki's voice demanding an answer for whether some of their pursuers were near-by. The play-girl found the timing perfect, for she was just asked if she was free tonight.

"No," she paused a bit. "I am terribly sorry. Maybe I can compensate by lunch tomorrow?"

The door of one of the fitting-rooms was nearly blown away and this time Chie blessed her dashing smile, which could block even something like that. She heard angry stomps behind her and mentally cringed at the thought of what was waiting for her later that night.

"Isn't it almost closing time?" The black-haired charmer inquired.

"Oh, yes, it is!" The woman looked at the clock regretfully. While she did that, Chie pulled out a few yen and tapped them on the counter. The attendant looked questioningly at her.

"I'll take four of those caps." She pointed towards four hats with the emblem of one of Japan's top baseball teams on the eyeshades. She beamed a smile and while the worker had her back turned to the shop, Nao and Natsuki exited the fitting-rooms and went for the exit.

As soon as Chie had taken the caps with the plastic bag, she threw them at the other two girls' direction, who caught them immediately. The bespectacled teen noticed that they both had their hairstyles changed into pony-tails. It looked good on Natsuki, but somehow it stood unnaturally on the other girl; perhaps it was because her hair was too short? They were dressed in Mai's and Aoi's clothes, which the gossip queen found strangely unnerving.

Natsuki's other two accomplices were waiting inconspicuously at the door and were handed two of the caps. Mai's pair exited the shop, followed soon by Natsuki's and Chie left soon after, giving the bewildered attendant a small wink and a perfect smile.

* * *

Mai looked around worriedly, before heading for their objective. She involuntarily remembered what had transpired not more than fifteen minutes ago at the Linden Baum.

"_Things are going to go as this," Natsuki stated with unmasked confidence. "Firstly, Chie will go to one of the clothes shops, preferably sport, and start swooning the attendant," Aoi huffed, but was ignored. "She will play the role of our dealer and set the game table out for us. Mai and Aoi, you two will be my partner for this game," the two nodded. "You will wait for my arrival inside the fitting-rooms and when I get there, we'll do an arrow switch*. After that happens, you'll head out to the farthest elevator or escalator. Once there, we're going to cause an endplay** and finish them after it. All the while we'll be keeping a connection through our phones and the web Chie has finished working on yesterday. It'll be a sweet chance to test it. Questions?" emeralds scanned the table._

"_Yeah, that was our part of the plan. What will you be doing?" Aoi questioned. This time Natsuki had been too laconic for their liking. They knew it would work out at the end, but the fear of failure was always eating them up from the inside every time they ventured into something similar._

"_Don't concern yourselves with me," the biker scoffed and gave them a sign to scatter. _

The two girls, who had switched their clothes with Natsuki and her companion, were walking hurriedly side by side. They could see the men, waiting for them at the escalators, but one elevator door remained unguarded. Aoi whispered its position to the listening Natsuki and informed her that they would be heading that way.

_"It's probably a trap," _the 'clones' were informed. They had pulled their new acquired disguise low over their eyes and Aoi had even put Natsuki's hood over the hat in order to hide her hair's color. _"Don't worry, just make sure you put on a show when confronted."_

Both pretenders suppressed a sigh, knowing full well that they could rely on their leader. But it was too unnerving to be kept in the dark almost all the time.

* * *

"Don't worry, just make sure you put on a show when confronted," Natsuki spoke into the small device. Nao watched her with suspicion from the corner of her eye. The clothes she had borrowed from that Tokiha chick were a bit loose on her, but it wasn't anything crucial. The shorts were not that broad and it wasn't obvious that the blouse belonged to somebody with a bigger bust. Not a lot, anyways, she had chosen to think.

She glided along the glass corridor with Natsuki, who was looking now straight ahead. This plan of hers was full of flaws, Nao concluded. They could be seen and recognized practically from every direction! When she inquired about this, the low reply she got surprised her.

"They are looking for two girls with our clothes, probably with some added minimal disguise. They won't expect a switch between players." Natsuki went quiet, when her eyes finally fell upon the backs of her friends in the crowd. They had almost reached an elevator, however she recognized some of their pursuers from earlier making their way towards the other duo. "Chie, is there a security guard near you?"

"_Yup, Blackwood,"_ chimed a voice in Natsuki's ear.

"Good. Tell him that there are men chasing your friends and point them towards the south part of the building, when I tell you to," she ignored the use of her leader nickname. She received a positive response and turned to Nao. "Let's go."

"Whoa, are you going, where I think you're going?" The red-head's concerns were confirmed when Natsuki went right for an elevator, where two of their chasers were watching how their fellow gangsters were headed for their targets. The two parties were not more than 35 feet apart. Not knowing what to do, Nao could only tail the other teenager.

One of the men was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, right next to the elevator's left side, his companion also on his left. They had relocated themselves a little to the front of the doors, so as to see better the unraveling show on the other end.

Natsuki heard a scream both through her ear-phone and from across the glass corridor and spoke clearly: "Now."

The attention of the crowd on their part of the corridor had been shifted towards the other and people started to push each other to see what had happened. Because of the commotion, the two men hadn't noticed that Nao and Natsuki had shoved past them on their right, slipping into the elevator. Not before the latter had dropped an opened permanent match in the pocket of the loose jacket of the man with crossed arms. As the doors closed, another scream was heard.

Nao thought with amusement that despite that it came from a grown-up man, it was the most girly screech she had ever heard.

* * *

Mai wasn't aware that Aoi could scream bloody murderer so well. In fact, she was surprised she hadn't become deaf with one of her ears. The moment a rough arm had grabbed Aoi's from behind, she had sounded an alarm like a siren. Seconds later a security guard was rushing their way and pushing the customers of the shopping centre aside. The thugs hadn't even gotten the opportunity to become aware of their mistake before another cry was heard from the opposite direction, followed by another and another.

The bewildered security guard looked back and forth between the two sides of the hall. So did the pursuers, recognizing one of their collaborators on fire. Mai and Aoi stared. They weren't told about this.

"_What are you waiting for?"_ Natsuki spoke through the ear-phones. _"Get your asses out of there!"_

The pair was ripped unpleasantly out of their stupor and quickly turned around and jumped into the elevator behind them. When they reached the bottom floor, they bolted out of it and ran through the middle of the shopping centre, where a fountain was situated. They couldn't hear what happened above their heads and daren't look up, for fear of being spotted by the chasers. The exit was right before them and they could see the other three girls waiting for them impatiently on the other side of the street.

Chie was already turning off their communication – her battery had almost run out, and so were the batteries of all of their phones. That new program sure took a toll on the already small energy supply of their smart-phones.

"Took your sweet time," beamed Chie at her girlfriend and Mai, but her smile immediately fell when she saw Aoi's annoyed expression.

"Let's go back to campus," urged Natsuki, before anyone could say anything else. They weren't still out of harm's way and all of them silently agreed to go to the dorms. Nao wasn't consent, but was too scared to be left on her own at the moment, so she tagged along.

* * *

The five girls were seated around a table on the floor of Mai, Natsuki and Mikoto's room. The middle-schooler was at her brother's and all of them were kind of grateful, that they didn't have to deal with the energetic and always hungry girl at the moment. They didn't get into trouble for returning so late, for they had taken a route Nao was not aware existed. Silence fell over the room, as tonight's events sank in.

Natsuki was looking at the ceiling, propped on her elbows, laying back. Mai was on her right, while Aoi – on her left. Both had laid their heads down on the table. Across from them sat Chie and Nao, who both had a stiffened posture and the latter felt rather unnerved in such a strange company. She gulped.

_Now what?_

Sensing the younger girl's discomfort and in order to lighten up the atmosphere, the gossip queen introduced the ones, who had saved the first-year tonight.

"Starting from right to left are…" she started in her announcer's voice, "Tokiha Mai, Kuga Natsuki and my beloved Senou Aoi-chan."

Aoi glared at her and Chie sweat-dropped. She was nervous and when she got nervous, the handsome girl started babbling. This was generally considered a menace, since she knew everything about everybody.

"So, yeah… You're probably wondering how we did something so awesome in such a short notice. Especially for somebody like you, who we don't know and who started a fight with Natsuki-kun earlier today! I'm Harada Chie and am known as the gossip queen of Fuuka High School and cannot but feel curious around you, Yuuki Nao-chan, since I don't have any records on you, besides that you've caused trouble on numerous occasions and your mother…" she was cut off by a shove in her side, which wasn't playful at all.

"Shut up, four eyes! How do you know this anyways?" Nao hissed at the pouting black-head.

"She just told you she was the gossip queen, dumb fuck," Natsuki stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Better show some gratitude, we risked getting caught by gang members, which could have turned quite unpleasant."

"Yeah! Especially for Blackwood here!" exclaimed Chie, pointing at Natsuki, excited, that at least somebody had defended her tonight. A second later that defense crumbled to nothingness when what the play-girl had said sank in. Silence once again hung in the air, but this time it threatened to fall and crush the first one, who dared to take some form of action. The unfortunate one was Nao.

"Blackwood? T.N.T.'s Blackwood? The gang leader?" She cried out in a mixture of surprise and rage, as she jumped on her feet. "Stop joking around! Everybody knows Blackwood is a man!"

She had had enough for one night. Like hell was she staying with those weirdoes any longer than this. The supposed gang leader didn't agree with her, though.

Natsuki had shot up from her laying position in a matter of seconds and had grabbed Nao's arm, holding it behind her back and pinning her to the ground, before she could escape.

"Chie, you and your big mouth!" Shouted Mai and Aoi from behind the pair, which was struggling on the floor, but Nao paid no heed.

She thrashed and pushed, punched and kicked, clawed and bit, but to no avail; Kuga had gripped her like iron shackles. Their green eyes clashed and Nao saw something that pierced her to her core with a cold knife, dipped in the substance, called 'fear'. It was unlike the look of anger she had witnessed earlier today. It was something more feral and animalistic: a look like a predator's; like a wolf protecting its pack. But this one was protecting its hide, it seemed. Nao stopped fighting back, it was useless now.

"Mai, Aoi, come hold her down," Natsuki commanded the two girls. Her hand was now upon Nao's mouth. "You won't scream, you won't try to escape. Now that my identity is threatened, both of us will discuss some things. Preferably nicely and quietly."

Nao felt her head nod and hated herself for it. By the time Kuga had released her, Mai and Aoi were at both her sides, holding her arms gently, but firmly. Natsuki straightened herself up and slowly looked at Chie, who was as white as a sheet. That look was more effective than any words, which could be said then.

"I'm sorry," uttered Chie. Natsuki huffed and turned around. No use in getting annoyed at something that had already happened. She was now sure the same mistake wouldn't be repeated in the future. It was better to prevent something bad from happening, though, so she turned her attention towards Nao again.

"You don't look stupid," Natsuki said out of the blue. "How did you get into that mess?"

"Like I'll tell the likes of you," Nao lowly drew out. She was going to keep up her rebellious attitude until the very end. The gang leader rubbed her temples and let out an exasperated growl.

"I'll make you a proposition, Yuuki Nao. Become my protégée, or you will see why even with T.N.T.'s small numbers, we are still formidable. No, even I alone would suffice to deal with you."

_As direct as always_, Mai thought. _Though, there wasn't much of a…_

"That's not much of a choice, Kuga!" Nao knew the stories of T.N.T. and didn't wish to see if they were true.

"There always is a choice," retorted quickly Natsuki. Patience wasn't her strong point, but she had learned how to nurture it and in return, she was beginning to get calmer. She was still a beginner student in that subject, though.

"You mean I am to choose between certain death and uncertain death?"

"You could put it that way, but a choice nevertheless, right?" Natsuki received a glare. Of course, it had no effect.

"What will I get myself into?" Nao asked dejectedly. What could she do, really? Those people obviously were not normal high-schoolers.

"The Bridge club," was the simple answer.

* * *

Glossary:

*Arrow switch - the action of changing the North direction during an event, so that the pairs who were North-South become East-West and vice versa.

**Endplay - a play which forces a particular opponent to win a trick, so that that opponent must then make a favorable lead. That player is said to be "endplayed".

- Blackwood is a popular bidding convention (a bidding system, if you will). It was created by Easley Blackwood and thus named after him.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Greetings! I am here just to thank the people, who thought this story was worth their time and if you are reading this now, then ****DOMO ARIGATO GOZAIMASU~****! Anyways, I tried not to complicate things and start the action from this chappie (it was high time, huh), but not really. XD Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME... got a problem? **

* * *

"You're joking, right?" Nao almost laughed, but was too nervous to actually do it. What was wrong with these people?

"No, I'm not," Natsuki scoffed and crossed her arms defiantly. She was a young woman with whom one should mind their P's and Q's; you couldn't shake a finger at her and expect to end up being able to count to more than nine (or even lesser numbers). Noticing her friend's growing bad temper, Mai decided to take the lead.

"Natsuki, please, allow me to explain everything to Nao-chan." They looked at each other and, although with some reluctance, Natsuki stepped down and sat on the floor, next to the now more alive-looking Chie.

Mai now turned her attention to the smaller girl and signaled for Aoi to release her, in order for them to sit more comfortably. In comparison to Natsuki, the caring carrot-top wasn't an upholder of the whole 'scare the shit out of 'em' strategy, which her friend used so often. According to her, predisposing a person to lower their guard before talking to them had proved to be a winning move in the long run. She gestured towards the table and all of them were once again situated around it. Mai sighed and started her narration, Nao listening attentively; her future depended on it.

"Let me start by explaining to you the principles, on which the gangs are formed and lead. When John Smith came to the city ten years ago, Fuuka was a most unpleasant place – the people were suffocating because of political injustice, poverty, high crime rate and ecological problems. While most of our city's problems have disappeared with Smith as mayor, you have noticed that crime has gotten only more organized and secretive in a way.

"That is to say that it is known which are the crime organizations, but normal people can't even hope to learn more. Sure, there are seemingly no problems, everyone is aware of the underground drug and weapon deals, of the paid assassinations and whatnot. Still no-one can prove them. Have you ever asked yourself why?" A shake of the head. _Oh, well._ "They pay the mayor and state in order to carry on with their deeds. The infrastructure of Fuuka prospers, along with its underground."

"But how-" began Nao, looking between Natsuki, Mai and Chie.

"How do we know?" Prodded Chie and received a nod. "Don't look at me, I'm on a much lower level of intelligence retrieval. If you ask…"

"You don't need to know," Natsuki ceased the gossip queen's explanation, her tone announcing that there was no way Nao would get anything else out of them. "Continue, Mai."

"Anyways, we know. So basically, every organization and gang has to pay to John Smith in order to exist. No new faces are allowed in the crime world, since it is difficult to form a group big enough to be of any competition to the others. T.N.T., however, is a different case. I can't give you the details of its foundation without Natsuki's consent, so don't pry on it. Being an 'illegal' gang, we are under heavy pursuit and are being hunted down. The only protection we've got is this school. Yes, who would suspect a group of students running something like T.N.T.? You may have heard some rumors about us, but I assure you, we do not indulge ourselves in anything besides destroying other gangs. However, if our cover was to be blown and our identities revealed, that would mean trouble. Especially for Natsuki, since she is the, oh-so-feared Blackwood. So, as not to raise any suspicions, we created the Bridge club, where we can meet without being afraid of getting caught. I am the president, by the way, because it would be strange if Ice Princess here would suddenly found an intellectual club and started managing it. And mind you, I am not that bad of a player myself. Our supervisor is Midori-chan, who never comes to meetings and is just responsible for us on paper.

"During our missions we use Bridge terminology, because it provides us the security of talking in a code everybody in the group understands and our enemies don't. So even if we are listened upon, only an expert would be able to break our code. And not many people in Fuuka are acquainted with this game. Actually, T.N.T. is not an abbreviation for 'Trinitrotoluene', the explosive, but for 'Total Number of Tricks', a theory of sorts. After you learn a bit of the game's rules, you'll get most of the things, anyways, so you shouldn't worry that much," Mai beamed at the other red-head, satisfied with her explanation. It was sufficient for now.

For the third time that night the room was filled with unreadable silence, during which Nao comprehended everything that Tokiha had told her. It wasn't much and it didn't answer some of her questions, but it had to do. She wouldn't be able to remember anything else if she had asked, so it was cool.

"So basically you are the 'good' gang beating the 'bad' gangs and sabotaging Smith's regime, while at it?" She finally ventured to ask, checking out if she had gotten it all right.

"If it'd make you feel better about yourself and help you sleep at night, yes," confirmed Chie.

"And I will be doing what exactly?" Nao was getting suspicious. What could they want from her?

"As I said earlier, since you know of our 'leading officers' identities, you can't and won't be let to walk out of here freely," answered her this time Natsuki. Her expression was unreadable to Nao, but Mai knew that her friend was extremely cautious and contemplative, while she spoke. "You'll be under the watch of one of us every day, depending on our schedule. It's most likely that Mikoto will be also one of your guards, since she is in most of your classes." Emeralds looked for confirmation from the gossip queen.

"That is correct. And also you will be rooming with my sweetest Aoi-sama." Chie leaned a bit towards her girlfriend, who blushed and looked away.

Nao made a disgusted sound and looked at Kuga. That haughty attitude of hers was grating on her nerves.

"Anything else?" She asked and got ready to get up.

"Actually, yes." Natsuki stood and went to one of the beds, which Nao assumed belonged to the gang leader. She pulled a thick book from under it and threw it at Nao, who had to muster all of her strength and skills to catch the book in order to keep her beautiful nose in place. The first-year looked at the book she was holding and lifted a brow questioningly towards her new superior.

"'The World of Bridge'? Do you want me to kill somebody with this #4 brick? Is this some test of loyalty? I saw it in a movie once, but they gave the guy a gun, not a book."

"Don't think that our club's name is just for show. Sure, we are a gang that eradicates smaller crime syndicates, but if we don't maintain a plausible image, we can't keep our club together, thus we lose our meeting place and base. We get invited to tournaments and if we don't get more than one win per team, we get disbanded. The rules state it and we can't do anything about it, as much as it sucks." Natsuki ran her right hand through her hair in a frustrated manner.

"So from this year you'll be my partner for the tournaments. I need you to get ready for the closest one, which is two months from now," Nao was informed.

First Nao let out a snort, then a series of giggles, then at last she broke out in a fit of laughter, rolling on the floor, hitting it with her fist, while she held her stomach with her other hand. Noticing that nobody else was laughing and sensing impending danger from a certain person, Nao ended forcefully her fit, brushing the tears from her eyes. She threw a glance at the book again and spoke to Natsuki in a somewhat civilized manner.

"This is a difficult game, isn't it?" She got confirmation from all sides. "How do I win it?"

"_You_ can't. There is limitless potential in each dealing, every hand and bidding. Even the best players and teams can be beaten when in possession of a hand full of loser cards," Kuga explained, looking extremely pissed-off.

"So… you're practically telling me there are endless tactics in this game to win?"

"Kinda."

"And you expect me to learn how to play it and form an unbeatable team with you?"

"I sincerely advise you do so, yes."

"Kuga, you realize that we have two months, right?"

"I think I can manage."

Nao cursed her destiny. How had she managed to escape death twice tonight and become part of one of the most dangerous gangs out there? She needed to write her will and last testament.

* * *

Ah, wasn't it simply fascinating? You could become famous just for being, well, famous. Shizuru smiled at her fan-girls, who were once again trotting around her down the school corridors and adoring her every fake smile or small gesture. The student council president didn't lie to herself; she knew she was pretty, elegant and held power over the student body. Oh, well, except for one body among the students, which she missed so much. However, caution came before her desires and she knew they were both aware of it. They had agreed that they wouldn't endanger each other's positions and not interfere with each other's lives for the time being. And despite knowing it was all with good intentions, Shizuru often wondered what it would be if they could be open about their feelings.

Nightmares plagued her in the hours of darkness about her beloved getting hurt, caught, compromised or killed. It didn't help that there were rumors spreading, which said her most precious person was involved with other people beside the stunning president. It was driving the young woman mad.

She noticed that the small solar system that comprised of her and the 'Fujino Shizuru Fan Club' had reached the student council room, which was called a room only for convenience. Actually it was the faculty building and was situated not far from the high school building. Shizuru turned, offered an apologetic smile, accompanied by an 'ookini' in her native Kyoto accent (receiving adoring looks from the girls) and entered the corridor, leading to the main student office. She really enjoyed going there and was looking forward to some peace and quiet.

Once inside the room, she was surprised to find Suzushiro Haruka sitting patiently in a chair. Silent. Shizuru resisted the urge to pinch herself to check if she was indeed awake and walked behind her desk, not before turning on the electric kettle she brew water with for her tea. Sitting down gracefully and turning on her computer, a courtesy of the school's head, she asked in her heavily accented, but nevertheless hypnotizing voice.

"Could something be troubling Haruka-han?"

"I haven't seen Yukino all morning," bluntly responded her self-proclaimed rival. "I'm worried that she might be in trouble, since she is second-in-command in the Executive committee, and all that spazz," Haruka huffed.

"Ara, I believe Haruka-han meant 'jazz'," said politely Shizuru before continuing. "Would she feel better if we were to call the police?"

Shizuru was aware that despite putting up a tough front, the school's rules upholder was extremely zealous and protective when it came to her best friend.

The Executive was just forming a reply, when the door opened and in walked Kikukawa Yukino and Kanzaki Reito.

Yukino's character and appearance could be described pretty easily: a mousy and timid young woman. Her light-brown hair was cut short and was sticking out in various directions, though it didn't look unkempt. Her moss-green intelligent eyes peered from behind spectacles, with a strange upside-down rim, balanced on her freckled nose and small ears. She bowed to greet the two girls and took her seat, placing silently her laptop in front of her and turning it on.

Enter Kanzaki Reito, the school heart-throb. He was the fantasy of every (or most) teenage girls; he was tall, nicely built, had perfect dark short-cut black hair, warm eyes, a lady-killer smile and a friendly disposition. He was Shizuru's best male friend and students often speculated that the president and the vice-president of the council were indeed a couple. She knew for a fact, though, that the charming young man had his sights set on a certain Tokiha Mai. He also greeted them with a polite nod and after sliding the door closed, walked to his friend's side.

"Where were you two?" Haruka's voice boomed and they all cringed a bit. The kettle started whistling and Shizuru went to pour herself a cup of hot water. While she was preparing her favorite beverage, she listened on the other three, her back turned to them.

"Headmistress Himeno called and asked me to deal with a few problems on the school network, since she is not here," quietly replied Yukino, shyly looking from her computer's screen to meet Haruka's evaluating gaze. Before she could demand an explanation for something else, Reito cut in, saving the youngest student from a troublesome and probably long tirade.

"I was sent to bring Kikukawa-san from the headmistress's office here, so no need to worry, Haruka-san," he assured her.

Yukino noticed that president Fujino was now too busy drowning in the aroma of her tea and gazing outside the window, seemingly lost in thought.

_I hope you're well, my Natsuki._ Shizuru sighed and turned her attention to the report Haruka was now presenting her about the rise of 'inappropriate', as she had put it, activities, in which some of the students were indulging this year. And it had only been a week…

* * *

"I can't get any of this shit!" Nao threw her hands up in a frustrated fashion. The words in this book really meant nothing to her. She needed to try playing, before studying the more complicated terms, but Natsuki wouldn't let her. "Kuga!"

Said girl was leaning on the back legs of her chair, a notebook on her face, her feet propped on her desk at the club room. They were skipping class.

_Jeez, idiot, don't do that when you wear a skirt, it's distracting._

Nao blushed when she caught herself staring. Not on one occasion. It was a relief that only the two of them were present in the place, lent them by the school. It was situated in the Clubs' building, but was far from the other rooms, used by students. The older members of the club, Nao had found out, had pushed especially for this very room. She could still not comprehend why, though; it was dimly lit, had only one window and an extra door at the back. Of course, she had heard Suzushiro Haruka, that lioness, ask Natsuki where it lead to and had gotten no clear answer. She still got giddy, when she remembered that particular conversation.

"There's a door at the back of your club's room." A grumble of acknowledgement followed. "Where does it go?"

"Nowhere, it has always stayed just there, if I recall correctly."

But that was beside the point. Kuga was ignoring her again and she didn't fancy this one bit.

"Oi! Oi, Kuga!" She shouted again.

"What do you want?" Came the haughty reply. Natsuki was obviously thinking about something and didn't want to be interrupted. Unfortunately for her, tormenting her had become Nao's favorite pass-time. For the past week she had succeeded in angering the older girl on several occasions, but the risk was worth it. The bitch deserved it, after all; making her a member of the stupid 'Bridge club' and everything.

"When are you gonna teach me how to play the stupid game?" She whined in an annoyingly sick voice. Natsuki growled. "Oh, come on, mutt, gimme a break. How am I supposed to learn to play, if all I do is read?"

"Then answer me this!" Natsuki stood up angrily and slammed her hands on the desk, looking with malice at the other girl. "If you were to go out there in a gang fight and I signal an S.O.S. redouble*, would you know that we are at a disadvantage and we most likely have a comrade in a pinch? This is why I'm asking you to read this book," she lowered her voice and continued. "I don't care if we don't get first prize in the tournament, we just need one win and I can give us that much. What is important, however, is that we continue winning in the gangs' world and slowly wither their ranks."

The Ice Princess walked towards Nao and stopped just in front of the small dirty and scratched desk.

"We may still be students, but if we start infiltrating that world now, we'll surely get far, overthrow Smith and end this farce! I know, Yuuki Nao, that you are the same as me and that you want revenge against the gangs, same as I do. The difference between us is that you aim too low."

Nao said nothing more on the subject of the game. She only narrowed her lime orbs at Natsuki and huffed, opening the book and resuming her reading.

"It sounds as if you're describing me a war zone, or something, Kuga. How do you guys fight? Who supplies you with weapons?" The freshman had been curious as to how a group of students could become something as frightening as the famous gang.

"I get the weapons by my own means. Don't concern yourself with such trivia, take it for granted." The leader flicked a raven lock and looked expectantly at Nao. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Why did you put yourself through the trouble of recruiting and training me, while you could have easily disposed of me and no-one would've cared?"

The question was daring and the new gang member was a bit afraid to know about 'Blackwood's' motives. The older of the two sighed and looked out the window in contemplation. How should she explain that?

"I don't just kill for fun, though I admit it is quite satisfactory at times. Besides, we lack in numbers and I find myself worried if we'll be able to continue like this, you know. It's getting more and more dangerous with each passing day. I know a capable person when I see one and I measure the abilities of a person by their sense of what is possible and what not.

"You are a member of T.N.T. now, so don't ever aim for the possible. Our policy is to aim for the impossible, it's easier to reach, since you are not told when you can stop pushing ahead." Natsuki smirked and headed for the room's entrance. She paused at the door, her hand on the handle and looked at Nao, who was staring impassively right back at her.

Natsuki knew that she had planted new questions in the girl's mind, but that didn't matter, for she would learn the answers with time. Just like she had.

"Where to?" Came the annoyed inquiry.

"The toilet, idiot. Don't ask your boss such questions," she replied, the smirk not leaving her face. She went out for a short while.

"You usually don't answer, anyways," mumbled Nao under her breath before observing the book with disdain once again. The first-year wouldn't admit it, but she sort of liked how she was given the chance by someone to do something like squeezing lemons in her enemy's eyes, but being back-upped all the while.

Well, that back-up consisted of no more than twenty people, but they were carefully chosen and, as Natsuki had put it, 'capable'. They were all students and Nao even had recognized some of the faces from the opening ceremony. She knew personally five of the more powerful members and had made the acquaintance of some of the other high school gangsters.

Higurashi Akane and Karauchi Kazuya were the most disgusting things in the world, she had decided. They couldn't spend more than twenty seconds in the same room without shooting each other lovey-dovey glances and blushing like middle-schoolers. Other members were second-years (people from Natsuki's and Mai's classes) and some third-years, which meant that Nao was the only first-year, not counting Mikoto, who was rather like Mai's fashion accessory or something. All of them, though, were bound together, Kuga had told her, by the want to stop the injustice and make Fuuka a better place. At first Nao had thought this to be idealistic babble, but when she learned of some of the hardships of her new fellows, she changed her opinion.

Kazuya, for example, had been caught in the middle of a fight between two rival gangs and had lost his little brother, who had been with him at the moment. T.N.T. had come in time to save the second-year's life, but was too late for the smaller boy. Akane had been in the gang at that time, her only purpose was to protect her loved ones, however was not able to during that accident. The survivors of the two gangs were wiped out by T.N.T. afterwards.

Kazuya had been in a shock after losing his family member and finding his girlfriend in a 'criminal' organization, however it had turned out well in the end. It was romantic in a way that they had sworn to become stronger together, but a sappy kind of romantic.

The door burst open. In flew Natsuki with Chie on her heels, carrying her computer and some cables and devices. Without sparing her a glance, the biker went straight for the back door and threw it open. Nao felt her jaw sweep the floor.

"What the fuck?" Was the only coherent verbal reaction she could muster at the moment.

The small closet-like space was filled with fire-arms, bladed weapons, small explosives and shells. The only thing lacking was a tank, helicopter, jet-fighter and a bazooka. And a fleet, but that was beside the point. Emeralds flashed in her direction.

"Can you wield a weapon?"

"I can try?" Nao ventured and Natsuki shook her head.

"That won't do, I guess you'll just stay here and watch us work, so that you can get a hold of what you're now a part of." Kuga motioned for Chie to come to her desk, where they set up the computer and the bespectacled girl made herself comfortable.

Cables were connected: a set of headphones, something like a receivery-satellite plate thingy and a huge charging device with a transformer, so that the electrical network wouldn't overload.

"I'll leave the informing of the other members to you. I'll only need five more people, but they should be well armed and be from the ones who actually know how to fight. Brief them when they come to get their weapons," she barked the orders to Chie, causing her to gape.

"Five more? That's reckless! Surely not in this situation, Natsuki-kun!" The gossip queen countered.

"I don't want to involve a big number of people. Intelligence and strategizing are more important," Natsuki growled, while changing from her school uniform to a more comfortable pair of black pants and jacket, taking a pair of twin guns and a small ear-bud communicator from the closet. "That bunch of scum has gone too far this time."

Having said that, she exited the room and slammed the door behind her, leaving Chie and Nao alone to their own devices. Shaking her head, Chiel put on the headphones and started typing ferociously, while Nao could only observe what was going on.

"Okay, listen up, I've sent all the needed members a message that they should come here immediately. This is our operative centre, from which I give out Natsuki's orders, which I usually receive through a different communication channel or are already written down. Actually, 'Blackwood' is a voice, synthesized in a computer program and it gives the illusion that 'he' is actually a real man. The operatives are told Blackwood's orders and if 'he' tells them to listen to Natsuki, they will, since she is 'his' second-in-command and one of the few people, who know 'him'," Chie was interrupted when a group of students walked in and stood before the desk, facing the two girls.

The group consisted of three boys and two girls, out of which Nao knew only Kazuya and Akane. The others were introduced as Dekasugi Heike, Takata Itoshiki and Kimura Kaede. They quickly changed their outfits, not bothered by the fact that they were with the opposite sex in the same room (except for maybe Kazuya and Akane), and looked at Chie expectantly, who pressed a button on her keyboard.

"We have a fall** situation in the faculty building. We have no idea why lowly thugs would want to get into a high school's faculty building, but we can't let this slip, since this is your, thus our, high school. I have just been informed and am giving you now orders to move out, while instructions on how we'll make a finesse*** will be provided later. Kruger is already waiting for you at the south edge of the forest, which separates the high school from the middle school. Take your weapons and go," was the quick explanation, given by an unknown deep male voice, but Nao noted, that nobody asked any questions. She assumed that this was Blackwood's voice and Kruger was Natsuki's operative name.

Rea-a-ally original. She almost snorted.

The five students exchanged worried glances and went for the weapon-closet, from where they took out their weapons of liking. Without another word, they left the room, where Chie continued typing something, while the younger girl was waiting for the action to begin. She decided to check in the book what 'fall' and 'finesse' meant and as soon as the explanations sank in, her head snapped at the other girl and she asked bewildered:

"So the faculty building has been taken over by a big gang and we sent a mere six people? If I got it right, a finesse is when you use the positioning of your opponent's cards, which are stronger than yours, in your advantage. How're you gonna pull it off?"

"If Natsuki says she has a plan, then she will win the game. Besides, this time it's more personal than you can imagine," Chie winked.

"Personal? How so?"

"You ask too much questions. Keep quiet and watch carefully; we don't know when we'll need you to go out with us on a more dangerous adventure."

"More dangerous than securing a building, full of hostages from an armed gang with just six high schoolers? I doubt it. Does this school have no security for such occasions?"

"I don't know what technology is being used, but internal and outside communications have been cut off and also have been the alarms… To tell you the truth, if we didn't have this useful program on my laptop, we'd be helpless, since the whole school is under some sort of jamming of sorts and mobile networks of any kind cannot be used. But I'm not a specialist, so you shouldn't expect much of a technical explanation from me," Chie rubbed the back of her neck with a sheepish smile.

"This'll be a blast…" murmured Nao, getting her nail-file out and putting it to good use.

* * *

Glossary:

* S.O.S. redouble – a redouble that asks partner for rescue from a doubled contract, normally a bad one.

** Fall – to be captured by a higher card.

*** Finesse – a technique that attempts to gain a trick or tricks by taking advantage of a favorable lie of the opponents' cards.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Hey there! Just wanted to say 'thanks' to the people, who have reached this chapter, which means that they have read the previous ones ^^ So... out of all of the chapters I've posted up until now, I like this one best. I hope you enjoy it and leave a review after you've finished, if you have any recommendations, advice, critique, etc. or just want to tell me about something that you liked, so that I can write more stuff like that in the future. By the way, should I put the glossary at the top, or should it stay at the bottom? I really can't tell what will be more convenient for you.**_

_**Have a nice day~!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mai HiME.**

* * *

How had it come to this? Ah, yes… After talking with Nao, she had gone out for a walk in order to think over a few strategies she could teach the younger girl before the tournament. It was always easier for her to think, while she was doing something else, like running or practicing and perfecting combat moves. Deciding that it was high time she went to get herself something to eat when…

"_Kuga-san!" she heard a familiar male voice calling after her and wondered if she wished his owner out of existence, would he disappear? Life wasn't that convenient, though, and persistently tantalized her. Like the petty mortal individual now unsuccessfully trying to gain her attention. "Kuga-san, please! Wait, it's important!"_

_Natsuki huffed and turned around. She knew she should have taken a more unfrequented path to the cafeteria and not striding practically through the dojo, where was situated the Kendo club. Being in one building with said club was quite the bother to the young woman, who suppressed the urge to smash her admirer's face in every time he tried to talk to her. And this happened far too often for her liking during the past five months, since her most short and fast way to her club's room went past the dojo. _

"_What is it, Takeda?" she spat impatiently at the spiky-haired boy, now standing in front of her. He looked a slight bit ruffled than usual, she noted. The urgent look in his eyes told her that this time maybe he wasn't going to ask her out on a date, but tell her something of at least minimal value. Regrettably, she had turned out right._

"_If you are going to visit the student council president, I would advise you not to do so," he said seriously, straightening his back._

"_Idiot! Why would I do that?" she retorted, her anger now boiling. She hit the Kendo club captain over the head. With extreme diligence. He held his head in his arms and looked at her with teary eyes and asked, "Aren't you friends?"_

"_None of your business!" Natsuki quickly put him back into his place. And then it came back to her and she inquired a tad bit more coolly, "And why shouldn't I do that?"_

_As if something had clicked inside Masashi's head and he began to speak more calmly and seriously, "It is most regretful, but the faculty building is under the control of one of the gangs. The status of the staff and student council is not confirmed and we can't reach the police."_

"_W-what?" stammered Natsuki. That was impossible! No lowly gang could breach Fuuka School's security system, since even her group hadn't been able to do that. The software of the unidentified private security company was too complicated to be infiltrated and taken down by the normal gangs that were occupied only with drug dealing and sometimes prostitution. This was a declaration that somebody big and important wanted something from inside the school. Well, they weren't about to get it if it depended on her and that, it did. _

_Natsuki spun on her heels and was about to dash, but a strong arm held her by the shoulder. Enraged, she turned around and glared at Takeda, who released her as if his hand were burnt black. _

"_Where are you going?" he asked cautiously, hoping to be able to get his chance to comfort the girl in her time of distress. He did not know how unwelcome his concern proved to be, though._

"_Fuck off, Takeda," the Ice Princess had no time for politeness, she had to contact Chie as soon as possible. _

_With that she left Masashi dumbstruck with his arm outstretched towards the direction she had taken off to, mouth slightly agape._

_During her sprint, Natsuki had checked whether the boy had told her the truth about the telephone connections. He had; the whole campus had been jammed. _

"_Shit!" she didn't know where to search for her bespectacled friend, who could be anywhere at the moment. But knowing Chie, she was probably somewhere near the faculty building, trying to scoop out something. _

_The leader of T.N.T. ran past students, who were chatting nervously, looking around for somebody, who could tell them what to do. She had no time for this, but oh, well…_

"_Listen!" her voice boomed over the crowd of uneasy high-schoolers. "Get to your dorm rooms, or inside the high school building! It is safest in there, 'cuz we might encounter teachers or other faculty members, who'd tell us what to do!"_

_Everybody's attention was on her now and some students nodded in agreement, while others didn't look so convinced. What was she to do in such a case? She thrashed her brain a little for a rational solution, but reached none. At the moment she could only think about saving…_

"_Natsuki! Over here!" she snapped her head towards her newly appeared ally. With a pleading look, she silently asked for help. Seeing her comrade's distress, Mai granted her one of her reassuring smiles and turned to the small crowd._

"_Please, everybody! Follow your upper-classmen back to your respective dorms! This is the only way we can assure our safety! If we don't organize ourselves quickly, we risk giving the criminals more opportunities to take hostages!" _

_It looked like now they were listening to reason, since the third-years among them ushered their under-classmen to do as they were told. Natsuki sighed with relief and turned with a half-smile towards her roommate. _

"_Thanks, Mai. I can't think straight at the moment," she admitted, ashamed of herself. Mai's expression darkened a bit and she asked if she should go and make sure the other students were headed for the dorms. After receiving a positive response, she left for the cafeteria to check if there were any people there._

_No sooner than Mai had left, Chie appeared from around the high school's building and Natsuki frantically waved her to come over to her. _

"_What have you got?" she wasted no time in obtaining whatever information was possible._

"_Nothing much. Two white vans at the front of the building, I don't even have the idea how they had gotten inside the campus! Also, Aoi confirmed that all the entrances we are aware of have been closed off or blocked with empty trucks," answered crestfallenly the gossip queen. "What do you reckon we do?"_

_The blunette had known this question was coming and had already prepared the answer, "I'll fucking kill them."_

"_Um, okay. That is all nice and stuff, but how will you do that?" knowing Natsuki, it was something to look forward to. _

"_Go get your computer and toys and we'll discuss it on the way," forest-green eyes were looking at the direction of the faculty building with rage, determination and intensity Chie rarely saw displayed from her friend. And that was frightening, indeed._

Concealed in the forest's vegetation and crouching on the ground, Natsuki observed the two white vans parked in front of the faculty room. Her brows were creased in thought all the while she was braiding her hair. She put on a hooded mask with a slit for the eyes; everyone in the gang was in a possession of one.

This was bad. The opposing players had the upper-hand and had already started the bidding* without her hearing the first offering. It was her team's turn and she knew not what suit to announce. She had to calm down her ass and concentrate on winning the game, for the stakes were high and she couldn't allow herself even one undertrick**. Blackwood had already given the orders for Chie to convene through their new communication system, but would Natsuki be able to carry them out the way she usually did with ease and perfection?

The cameras at the entrances of the building were undoubtedly being surveyed and were completely out of the question. The windows were made only for the purpose to let the sunlight enter and were extremely sturdy; the building was air-conditioned all year. Breaking the windows would prove impossible without shooting at them, she reasoned. The old ones were replaced by new hardened ones after a rather unpleasant accident, involving a sabotage of an exam, expelled students and a lot of flying rocks and other primitive projectile weapons. People, the teachers in particular, learned from mistakes and adapted in order to survive the savage wildlife, consisting of the numerous children and teenagers. It was impossible to tell which of the two main groups was more dangerous.

She had a loser hand***. But then again, she had experience with loser hands and had managed to pull through bad situations. Of course, she already had the whole plan laid out in front of Chie and her friend had agreed that it was indeed the best she could have thought of with the devices they had at their disposal. They couldn't be too flashy or they risked being caught and their efforts reduced to zero. Ah, her patience was wearing thin.

"Hallard, did you find the map?" using the girl's assigned code-name, she whispered in her communication device that was bound to her phone, which was put in her tight pocket. Her guns were in a gun holster, strapped on her back and she had an army knife strapped to her thigh. She wasn't good with other weapons, to her shame.

"_Yes, I've almost extracted it,"_ just as this was spoken into her ear, Natsuki heard a rustle behind her and turned at lightning speed with a gun pointed at the chest of one of her comrades, clad in black with the same mask on his face.

"It's me, Michael," she recognized the code name as Dekasugi Heike's. "The others with me are Brian," Takata Itoshiki, "Lilith," Kimura Kaede, "Soir," Higurashi Akane, "and Krauxeku," Karauchi Kazuya. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Natsuki nodded in acknowledgement.

"_Got it. The nearest shaft is the one south-east from the back entrance. It should be a few steps from the dumpsters, but I could be wrong,"_ rang Chie's voice in Natsuki's ear. From the whole party she was the only one, who had an ear-bud like this one; it was damned expensive and she didn't want to spend on more than five. She needed her finances for other purposes.

Natsuki pressed the little device and replied "Got'cha."

* * *

The one in control had always been Shizuru and now that the advantage of manipulating and playing around with people's minds and reactions had been taken away from her, she was feeling a shadow of discomfort and a slight vulnerability. Though she did not show it, the student council president was worried a bit. And if a barrel of a gun pointed at your head for half-an-hour now wasn't unnerving enough, she was forced to listen to Haruka lecturing the gangsters, who were placed in their room to guard them. This was a most unpleasant turn of events, she had to admit to herself; they had taken her tea away, too.

Her ruby-red eyes carefully scanned their captors. The three men in the room were dressed somewhat casually for such a delicate mission, however their faces were hidden by hooded masks with three openings – two for the eyes and one for the mouth. Their weapons, from what she had learned from Natsuki, were nothing special, either: simple machine-guns. This didn't make them any less threatening, though.

Shizuru pondered on what they could want with the school staff and why had they gone to such lengths to obtain it. Curious as it was, she found herself getting distracted. The president was beginning to grow more and more nervous about whether they would be let out unharmed, seeing how the Head Executive was playing Vivaldi's 'Storm' on the captors' tense nerves. They looked close to shooting her… any moment now…

'Click.'

"Haruka-han…"

"Haruka-chan…"

Both Yukino and Shizuru began, but fell quiet, once other two guns clicked at their respective directions. Yukino gulped and looked apologetically at Suzushiro, who fell silent at the notice. The silence was interrupted by a walkie-talkie's crackling. Shizuru sighed; those people lacked style, unlike someone she knew.

"_Bring the girl with the glasses,"_ was the only command, which came through the old communication device.

"What?" barked now a standing Haruka.

'So much for not getting shot,' regretfully assumed Shizuru.

The four students were positioned at their normal seats – Shizuru by her desk, Reito not far away from her, Yukino in her own seat at the other end of the room, while Haruka paraded in the middle. Now her hands were on her hips, and she obviously had no intention to let her childhood friend go anywhere without her consent.

"Sit down, bitch," commanded one of the men, his machine-gun pointed at the blonde's head. He didn't look in the mood to be playing around with headstrong high school bulls… uh, girls.

"Yukino is going nowhere!" Haruka just didn't give up. This wasn't the best course of action in Shizuru's opinion.

"Perhaps," the president began before any gunshots would spoil the otherwise swell afternoon, "it would be best if the gentlemen would take Haruka-han with them, in order for the situation not to end unpleasantly? We do not want any blood spilled on campus, and I assure you that if that happens, there will be some slightly objectionable consequences."

The men stared at Shizuru malevolently before one of them whispered something inaudible for the students in the walkie-talkie. Was this girl threatening them, while in such a position? What made her so confident?

Said girl smiled her usual impartial smile, while trying to keep to herself the fact that her palms were sweaty and her heart was participating in an obstacle-race with the genuine chance of winning the gold medal.

Another crackle; a one-worded confirmation was given to the gangster for whatever he had asked. The tension increased when he once again looked at Haruka from behind his weapon, causing the blonde involuntarily to gulp. He motioned for her to get going, along with Yukino, causing each of the students to release a breath they didn't know were holding. They were safe for now, Shizuru thought. But she was surprised when the men urged her and Reito to leave the room with the rest.

* * *

Of course, Fuuka's citizens had always been fixed on the idea that the canalization water was incredibly pure in comparison to that of other cities. As everything else, naturally. A strange form of patriotism, if you may. Any water that had passed through so many kidneys, they confidently reasoned, had to be indeed very pure. Then how, the hell, had the idiot Takata stuck his leg in that piece of… something?

She knew she was getting nervous with not knowing where they were going to end up and everything. Natsuki had followed carefully through Chie's instructions and had led her small team into the canalization, planning to blow up a portion of the floor of the old boiler room, which was now empty. Being familiar with the faculty building inside-out, for she had often hung around there with Shizuru, Natsuki had told her team where to go and what to do when there; each one of them was given a designated task, based on her knowledge.

She loved to be informed. That way she possessed a significant amount of power over her opponents, whose movements she had already predicted and was ready to counter with her game strategy.

Purchasing plastic explosives sure was a good idea, Natsuki noted to herself. Infiltrating the faculty building wouldn't be that hard now, or so she reckoned. The basement, the boiler room especially, had a special kind of isolation, which didn't allow the heat to ruin the building's foundations and prevented the dampness from spreading to the two upper floors. Said isolation, conveniently, also proved to be an excellent sound-blocker.

'We should wrap Suzushiro up in something like that.'

Natsuki could hear the footsteps of her team members from behind her, while she was squinting at the darkness and walked ahead of them with the only flash-light they had in her hand. In all the commotion and internal struggle what to do first, she had forgotten to bring a flash-light; God bless Akane's thoughtfulness. She should praise her later when they get out of here unharmed and well, as her own plan, spoken through the computerized Blackwood, stated. Playing her enemies was easy, but playing her partners was tricky – that could result in something catastrophic and she knew it.

The group reached a wall and its leader almost crashed unto it, however managed to stop herself before creating herself a painful concrete eczema.

"We reached a wall, where to now?" she asked quietly her navigator.

"_Lemme see…"_ she heard Chie mumble and was tempted to yell at her that she didn't have the time to 'let her see'. _"Ah! You should be facing a north wall right now. Go two meters to the west and the old boiler room should be right above you. Don't worry about the sound the explosion will make, it's deep in the basement and nobody goes near there! It's also sound-proof." _

'I know, idiot, _I_ told you that,' Natsuki suppressed an exasperated sigh and counted four strides to the west and told Dekasugi to lift her, since he was the most broad-shouldered among them.

Once she was upon his shoulders, she told Kimura to hand her the plastic explosives, which she placed with care on the disgusting and damp surface of the canalization's ceiling. Natsuki cringed. Shizuru had educated in her a strong sense and appreciation for cleanness that was the cause of her nausea. This wouldn't have happened a few months back!

"Are you okay?" asked her Akane after she had gotten off Dekasugi's back and swayed a little. Blinking a few times, she regained her composure and nodded curtly, after which she motioned for them to go back the corridor a little and duck for cover. Obeying momentarily, the whole group was now securely hiding behind the corner they had passed a minute ago. Natsuki gulped and pressed the button of the detonator, praying that the explosion, which followed, would be unnoticed by the other group of infiltrators.

* * *

"Are they friggin' SWAT or something?" whispered Nao to herself. They were going to blow up the floor of the old boiler room? With plastic explosives? Why was there even a boiler room in the faculty building? Her last question was voiced out loud and Chie covered her microphone with her hand and explained that according to Midori-sensei those bastards of teachers had their own bath.

"Damn," Nao hissed. It sure was nice being a teacher: you got to torture little buggers, whose future depended on you, and at the end of your glorious day, you got to soak yourself in a nice bath in your own office building. Now wasn't that classy? And all of that was built with money from the students, who were forced to choose from paying their tuition, earning a scholarship or bidding their diploma 'goodbye', if they hadn't been accepted in the small and always packed full public school. Nao had required enough money to pay for herself from all of the gang members she had met on the net and afterwards robbed.

Chie nodded absent-mindedly, while listening intently if Kuga's team was in any trouble. She sure was happy that Natsuki had acquired such 'toys', as the emerald-eyed beauty had put it. However, when asked, she refused to answer where from with the pretext that it was 'none of their business and they shouldn't worry about it'. Chie closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair, when she heard the husky commanding voice of her friend giving orders to the others to climb up through the hole. It seemed that there weren't guards waiting for them up there, which was a good start of the retrieval operation.

* * *

Once all of her team members were in the boiler room, Natsuki motioned for them to follow her to the door. The small explosion had caused some plaster to fall off the walls and had also created clouds of dust. Having drawn their weapons, the group silently moved to the door and pushed it gently ajar. Kimura took the lead and scanned the underground corridor for enemies, but given how it was dark and they could see next to nothing without the flash-light, they decided to move towards the only place where light was coming from: the crack of the door leading to the ground floor.

Up until now was the easy part. Their advantages were that there were no cameras inside the building, but only at its entrances, and the knowledge where the hostages were mostly likely to be held. The building had only two floors – one for the archives and the rooms, provided for the student council's necessities and the second for the teachers' vast room, the headmistress' office and the room with the servers, where Natsuki hadn't been before.

The highest possibility was that the offenders wanted information from Himeno's archives or the server room. The teachers, who had been present during the attack, were probably all on the second floor in the big shared room, while the student council was either already there, or was at the moment being escorted. It was common sense to keep all hostages in one place when you had only two vans of men, which amounted to about twenty people.

It was plain as day to the young leader that she was dealing with non-professionals, as they had left themselves too open for counter-moves. She was almost convinced that somebody, who didn't want his hands dirtied with such an, at a first glance, easy task, was paying them. Whoever was pulling the strings, though, obviously wasn't anticipating interference from a third party, which was her biggest trump out of her otherwise miserable cards. Natsuki was aware of almost all of her opponents' cards, but knew not what the distribution of suits was. She reasoned she had to find the hard way, but 'trial and error' just was not her style, so she had to force her enemies to make a mistake and create an opening. She took a deep breath.

'Here goes.'

Gripping one of her guns in her left hand, she opened the door quietly, praying that it wouldn't screech and give out their position. This time luck was on their side and the door made no noise when it opened just enough for Natsuki to poke her head out of the crack and take a look around. The door to the basement was situated near the main entrance of the building, where two men were standing on guard, their backs turned to the teenagers, while surveying the vicinity for potential danger. Unfortunately for them the real threat was now creeping behind them, ready to strike.

The members of T.N.T. were explicitly told not to use fire arms unless there was no other way out of a situation, so two of the boys – Kazuya and Takata took the privilege to grab the guards from behind around the neck in a deadly lock. The duo didn't let go until the men hadn't stopped moving and were confirmed to indeed be dead by Dekasugi. The weapons of the dead – two machine guns – were given to Kaede and Takata, while Natsuki took the walkie-talkie from one of them, before helping Kazuya hide the bodies behind the door to the basement. The rest of the team peeked around the corner of the other corridor, where the archives and student council room were situated. The staircase leading to the second floor was frontally placed to the entrance and didn't seem to be guarded by anybody.

The moment the lock of the basement's door quietly clicked, another sound was heard – one of a sliding door opening. The whole group froze in anticipation and surprise, while they heard at least six pair of feet moving along the floor. They quickly broke out of the stupor and moved next to the wall, their guns pointed at the place where the corridor met the small lobby.

Natsuki had drawn out both her guns and had crouched low on the floor, awaiting the start of the engagement. For the next few seconds it seemed to her that time had considerably slowed down.

Firstly from behind the corner came a tall brunette with her hands behind her head, followed closely by a handsome dark-haired boy. After them came two girls, one of them wearing a highly displeased expression, while the other was peeking frightened from behind her glasses. Behind the students appeared one by one three armed with machine-guns masked men, who didn't seem to have noticed the enemy yet.

The first to see the group of teenagers was the crimson-eyed beauty at front, who almost froze on her spot out of the shock of having at least six more barrels aimed at her. Fortune had it so, that her look fell upon startling emerald eyes, which she immediately recognized; they were going to be okay.

She threw herself upon the boy next to her, while yelling 'Duck!' with the hope that the two other girls would react in time and not get caught in the fire. The two of them fell roughly on the ground, causing Reito, who was under Shizuru, to cough out all the air that was in his lungs.

Haruka was just about to ask 'What duck?' when she too found herself on the floor, Yukino desperately holding her down, while bullets flew back and forth over their heads.

* * *

"What's happening?" shouted Nao, who could hear the gunshots very clearly through the headphones, which were tuned so that she could listen, too.

Chie could only crease her brows and whisper "Sounds like machine-guns to me."

What was Kuga thinking? She had just blown up her chance of stealthily taking control over the hostage situation. Why was she risking every life in that building, including her own?

Nao frowned and kept herself from hitting something in an attempt to vent her frustration. Natsuki's plan wasn't supposed to go like this… at least she thought so, because, as usually, she hadn't been told what it was. But then again, it had been futile to try and keep up with her schemes and strategies so far, since she hardly let anyone know what her full plan had been up until the very end. This could be all a part of the game, or so Nao and Chie wanted to think.

* * *

Glossary:

*Bidding - The first stage of a deal, when players jointly determine the final contract. Having examined their own cards, they make a series of calls in rotation, which is called the auction or the bidding.

** Undertrick - a trick that declarer does not win, causing the contract to go down. Multiple undertricks occur: for example, two undertricks could result in 4 hearts down two.

***Loser hand – a hand consisting mostly of cards that cannot make tricks.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Hi there! It was a tiring week and I found myself unable to finish chapter nine, shame on me, I know. I don't have anything special to say, except that I'm getting giddy with the way things just seem to flow out on the word documents and I'm happy with where I'm headed with this story. Anyways, dear readers, have a nice time wondering why the hell I'm continuing with this and I wish you a nice week! ^w^**_

**Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Mai-HiME and its characters.**

* * *

The fire had ceased. The only sound that could be heard was the clicking of charger-clips and rustling of clothes. When a hand grabbed her shoulder somewhat roughly and desperately, Shizuru finally dared to open her crimson eyes and behold what fate had decided.

She almost cried out in happiness when her gaze was met with familiar forest-green orbs and she did everything in her power not to hug her savior. A brief moment of understanding passed between them, after which the black-clad figure stood up and motioned for one of the others to come to them. Something was whispered between them, causing the taller figure to nod and crawl to the bottom of the staircase. Everything was still a bit dazed for her, but Shizuru straightened up and looked around to evaluate the aftermath of the exchange of fire.

Four figures were lying motionlessly on the ground, one of which, to her horror, was Reito's. Yukino and Haruka were sitting shell-shocked on the floor, the mousy girl still clinging to the Executive's form, who for once was at a loss of words. They seemed okay, though. The other victims of the leaden death were their captives; none of Natsuki's team had lost their life, or had been injured.

'They're good indeed,' the president thought fearfully, while checking on her unconscious friend. She knew that Natsuki had trained with them a great many of hours, even though she refused to tell her where, for safety's sake.

The enemies' weapons were now being collected and the bodies dragged away, so as not to obstruct future maneuvers.

The leader of T.N.T.'s small team was torn inside when she had her beloved so close, but couldn't comfort her, couldn't tell her that it was going to be okay. That she would save all of them and kill off the bastards in the process. However, she still had work to do. By her quietly given orders all of the student council's members were escorted by their room and left there with Kimura as a guard.

Natsuki was frowning underneath her mask. This had been too easy. Now all that had to be done was for the stupid amateurs to… 'Ah, here they come.'

Kazuya had crouched at the bottom of the steps and had concealed his presence in the shadows, thrown by the staircase, the windows aligned next to it allowing the afternoon's sun to shine brightly inside. The young man was holding one of the enemies' machine-guns, waiting to attack from behind, like he was instructed.

"'M checkin' it now, boss," the remaining four members of the team heard a man's voice coming from the top of the stairs, when he began descending. A click signalized that he had switched off his walkie-talkie, which was all the more better. Natsuki, Dekasugi, Akane and Takata were hidden behind the corridor's curve, weapons at the ready in case Kazuya failed to disarm the opponent. Natsuki bit her bottom lip, waiting for the outcome of the upcoming struggle with anticipation.

A muffled yelp, a thud and the followed silence alerted the rest of the team, who emerged from behind the corner and saw Kazuya straddling awkwardly, but nevertheless securely, the bigger man. It seemed that the sight of five guns pointed at him discouraged him somehow and his pointless struggle stopped, all color draining from his face. Dekasugi got nearer and tied his mouth with a piece of bloodied cloth, torn from the man's dead accomplices. It was all the psychological effect, all of them had concluded. Tasting blood when under captivity just played the right tricks in a fellow's bewildered mind.

He was pushed on his feet and dragged to the archive room. The space was filled with metal cupboards overflowing with papers and records of past years that had still not been turned into digital files. There were no windows in consideration with the fact that the sunlight might damage some of the papers or cause a fire. Darkness was good, thought Natsuki before shoving the captive against a cupboard, causing it to shake threateningly behind his slouched on the floor trembling form.

She had the barrel of her gun pressed to his skull; it was still hot from all the shot bullets.

"You won't shout or I'll re-paint this room with _your_ blood," she growled lowly at the shaking man. It was a miracle he still hadn't let his bladder take over for him. Only a shaky nod followed. She roughly pulled the cloth from his mouth and he gasped for fresh air.

"Please, I'll tell ya everything! Just lemme live!" he begged desperately, his eyes watering. It was revoking for Natsuki to watch a grown-man cry in front of so many people, since she had never done so.

"Really?" she asked, mock sarcasm evident in her husky whisper. "What are the names of all of Jupiter's sixty-four moons? I think I've forgotten some of them."

The man stared blankly back at her, obviously trying to form an answer, as his lips moved soundlessly, but finding that impossible. Fooling around though wasn't going to get the information she needed, as much as it pleased her to watch the man wriggle.

"How many of you are there?"

"I…"

"Answer!"

"T-ten more…"

"Who's your leader?"

"Gouda… Kinzou."

"The Kisame gang, huh? Where are the hostages kept?"

"Inside… da teachers' room…"

"Who told you to come?"

"Da Golden… Era... I think."

"Who are they?" Natsuki creased her brows in a deep frown. She had never heard of them; they had to be a new gang. Yamada had some explaining to do as to why he had failed to mention them as she never failed to pay him lavishly, especially last time. "How did they contact you?" she continued her series of questions.

"I've… no idea…"

"How did they contact you?" her voice raised a slight notch, but it was enough to cause the man to close his eyes and whimper.

"I dunno!"

"Why are you here?"

"I du… I dun…"

A click of the safe guard.

"I dunno, I swear…"

"Why should I trust your word, when you betray your comrades so easily?" the Ice Princess was looking like she was going to rip his throat out. Her emeralds were narrowed in a furious glare and she was daring for him to talk back. He couldn't utter a word, though.

"Tell your leader everything's how it's supposed to be. Now!" her rage was boiling inside of her and even the other team members were afraid to confront and tell her to calm down. She shoved the walkie in the man's arm, who shakily switched it on and informed Gouda that the situation was under control, all the while Natsuki's gun pressed to his temple.

"T-there, ready," he switched it off again and it was snatched away from him. A trace of hope shone in his small cowardly orbs and the gang leader put her gun back in its holster. Too stiff and surprised to react, the man didn't expect to be roughly pushed against the cold cupboard again and gasped for air when gloved hands circled his throat and the green-eyed devil leaned forward.

"Still," Natsuki whispered hoarsely in his ear, "you didn't answer my first question."

And he knew fear and pain no more. All that was left now was a shell with a sickly twisted neck, lying next to a pile of students' records from fifteen years ago.

* * *

"Sh-she murdered him…" the newest member of T.N.T. announced to herself under her breath. "The hell?"

Her angry yell was followed by silence on both sides of the connection. Chie hadn't covered the microphone, so their leader must have heard Nao's heated outburst. Chie's mouth was slightly agape, her eyes focused on the laptop's screen, but unseeing.

Natsuki hadn't done such an outrageous thing before! Surely she had joked when she had stated that she'd kill them, right?

'Maybe her rage had clouded her judgment,' thought Chie. She lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes, while slouching backwards in her chair. Oh, how Natsuki would regret that later; she just knew it. She knew her friend and that she was not the type of person, who would've done this in their right state of mind. She also knew that Natsuki was a spontaneous and passionate individual when it came to Fujino-san and those, who had hurt her or were a potential threat to the president's well-being, were never to be forgiven. Chie was feeling regret.

Nao didn't know what to make out of what had just happened. Hadn't Kuga told her at least once every day the past week that T.N.T. wasn't like the other gangs and they were fighting and striving for justice? What a hypocrite! Had she lied to her? What had pushed the always level-headed rebel to commit such an inhuman act without second thought?

She thought she had gotten to know Kuga a little bit better in this week they had spent almost all their free time together, however she was proved wrong. The first-year had even made the effort to establish a proper human relation between them, which was not easy at all, given the Natsuki's haughty and distant behavior.

This had failed, of course, since Natsuki didn't let even her best friend Mai onto what was going on her mind about certain issues. She was preaching them that trust was the most important thing in the game they played, but didn't comply to her own rules. What a horrible person. Nao was feeling disappointment.

Both girls situated in the gang's base waited motionlessly for the events on the other end to unfold.

* * *

They were back in the student council's room, however this time they were not held captive, but were being protected. The silent slim figure, standing next to the sliding-door held her weapon in a loose manner, ready to make a move if needed. The other occupants of the room were keeping quiet for the most part of the time.

Haruka and Yukino were seating next to each other, the shy girl looking at her feet with guilt, while the loud blonde was stoically staring into nothingness. Reito was lying on the floor, still unconscious, while Shizuru sat next to him, surveying his condition. It was nothing serious, she had concluded; the boy had hit his head when falling on the ground during the cross-fire. She was feeling a trace of guilt, because she was partially responsible about his injury, but she reasoned that it could not have been helped under those circumstances.

What was one of her main emotions at the moment was frustration, for she was unable to do anything. She was an apt fighter and was taught how to use a gun by her lover, but she was sure Natsuki wouldn't let her even think about it. Her stubbornness sometimes was too much for Shizuru to handle, along with the girl's tendencies to unconsciously take risks and her unceasing attempts to prove that she could pull out of death's jaws a few golden fillings anytime she wanted. Yes, the second-year was a genius when it came to battles and games, but was incredibly cocky and self-confidant. That's where Shizuru came in. Her role was to pull back her beloved in the reality and keep her down-to-earth.

Her musings were interrupted by the sliding of the door open and the entrance of the rest of the six-man team.

Natsuki cast Kimura a glance and nodded to her in acknowledgement; the girl didn't move from the door and kept an eye for enemies outside. It would be bad if they were closed off and unable to react in time if something were to happen.

"What happened?" she demanded, speaking to no-one in particular. She knew Suzushiro would cut her own tongue and burn it before presenting an unknown masked armed person an explanation her and expected for Shizuru to be the one to answer. So it greatly surprised her that the one to reply to her was the ever shy and closed-off Kikukawa Yukino.

"Those men just barged in and told us that we were being held hostages."

Everyone in the room was astonished that the Head Executive didn't manage to snap her neck with the jerky and abrupt movement she made in order to turn her head at Yukino and look at her, extremely taken aback.

"Yukino!" she managed to choke out.

"And then?" Natsuki pressed on, wanting to get this over with.

"Then they were contacted and were told to escort…" this time Haruka's glare was enough to cause the mousy teenager to falter, "…us."

"Really now?" the icy tone in which Natsuki's distrustful inquiry was pronounced made the hearts of everyone in the council's room to stop for a moment, before resuming their rapid beat. "You won't happen to lie to us, would you?"

"I…"

"Yukino!"

"It was me that they wanted," the girl finally broke down. She was now pressing her eyelids shut, looking like she wanted to fold inside herself and disappear without a trace, so as to not to face the Executive's disapproving glare.

"Why?" Natsuki's questions kept coming.

"Mind your own business, you terrorist!"

Natsuki tried to suppress the urge to shout back at Haruka that she was only trying to help them and managed to growl out only an imperious, "Silence, fool."

"Why I ought to…"

"Haruka-chan, please," Yukino was now gazing pleadingly at her enraged friend, who seemed ready to take on the 'offenders' all by herself. To distract her, Yukino decided to give an answer. "I suppose they wanted me to enter the school's database, because I am the best computer specialist in the school," at her last statement she involuntarily blushed.

"I see," was the only reply that followed before Natsuki left the room with four of her comrades, leaving Kimura, Kanzaki, Suzuhiro, Kikukawa and Shizuru behind, not sparing even a glance at the latter.

'Has something happened?' wondered Shizuru, before she registered Haruka's accusations at the poor shivering Yukino.

"How could you tell them that? For all we know, they could be worse than those first morons!" she stopped in order to take a breath, but was not given the opportunity to continue.

"I believe, Haruka-han, that what Kikukawa-han did was the best that could be done in our current helpless situation. As much as it pains me to admit it, we are at those people's mercy and we should do anything to avoid direct confrontation," calmly explained Shizuru, as if she was talking to a small child. The lioness huffed, however didn't give in.

"Are you saying we should flick their feet, Fujino?"

"It's 'lick', Haruka-chan…"

"That's what I said!"

'Typical Haruka,' the student council president looked down at Reito's unreadable face. She was feeling a head-ache threatening to befall her.

* * *

She could feel that her team was moving with hesitation and superfluous caution. Probably it was her fault, but she didn't feel any need to explain her actions to any of her comrades; if they felt it their responsibility to report the case to Blackwood, they would do so. It would be pointless though, Natsuki bitterly smiled underneath her mask.

Knowing what was going to happen and having predicted all of the possible outcomes was sometimes boring and took away the excitement of anticipating what was going to happen next. It brought her a different kind of excitement, though. She enjoyed watching her opponents' triumphant grins being wiped off their faces when they came to the realization that they were completely exposed before her. In the past she found it quite tedious, for all of them reacted the same way when she seemingly without effort had brought them down. The great many gangs her T.N.T. had wiped out were proof of the superior power they held. One day, she could use that power to exact her… their revenge and everything that lead to that inevitable end was just a test, an obstacle she, they had to overcome.

The small team had already reached the staircase again and was preparing for the up-coming struggle.

"The enemy," their leader started to explain quietly, "as we already know, is in the teacher's room and probably some of them are situated in Himeno's office. Our plan of action will be…"

"Wait," interrupted her Takata. The only part of his face that could be seen was his eyes, but they spoke quite clearly: he didn't trust her. That was to be expected, of course; she wasn't surprised.

"What is it, Brian?" she inquired.

"Let us hear directly from Blackwood," he demanded, this time more confidently.

"We don't have time for…"

"Please, Kruger-san," softly requested Akane. Natsuki sighed, there was no way around it.

"Fine," she backed down and reached under her hooded mask. "Hallard, put Blackwood through line number five."

Takata took the device and lifted his mask a bit, so that he could put the ear-bud. His face was expressionless, while he listened to whatever was told to him. The other three members of the team were nervously looking back and forth between Itoshiki and Natsuki. The boy removed the ear-bud and handed it back to the bluenette, who equipped it back to her ear.

"Did you find it satisfactory, Brian?" shot at him Natsuki. He only looked away ashamed and nodded, while the others wondered what had transpired between Blackwood and Takata. "We shall proceed, then, and if I make a mistake in my briefing, you may correct me."

* * *

The recording had stopped and Chie clicked it closed. They heard once again Natsuki's voice explaining to the other people with her what they were going to do next. What was going through Kuga's mind?

"How did you… how did she know?" Nao muttered to herself and was met with Chie's questioning gaze. She mustered up what she wanted to say and spoke more clearly.

"How did she know that this guy would doubt her? And how, the fuck, did she know what was going to happen? Is Kuga psychic or something?"

Chie chuckled and once again blocked the mic with her palm, because her explanation was going to take some time and she didn't want to disturb the person on the other end.

"When we came here, I typed in everything Natsuki-kun instructed me to put inside the computer program, synthesizing Blackwood's voice. We do that every time. Usually she has predicted more than two outcomes of our little adventures, so we have to turn them into Blackwood's 'own words' if somebody doubts what she says. They are all following a strong and mysterious man, after all, not a high-schooler, not much different from them. She told me to play Takata the fifth recording, is all. Each recording has five copies, which were modified so as to address a member of the party personally, if they wanted to speak to Blackwood. In extreme cases, she would let me work on his words as we go, but we haven't had such a case before," dark brows creased. "To recapitulate, I played a recording, done for 'Brian', which was one of Natsuki-kun's 'most possible outcomes' that she thought up. This particular plan isn't anything special, though. Do you get it now?"

"I get it. What I don't get is how Kuga's brain works," Nao scoffed.

"Who does?" the gossip queen quietly chuckled. "Anyways, having a few plans predicted isn't too much for her. She knows she can make all of them happen, but she chooses the easiest one. Is this all?"

"Last question!" Nao exclaimed when she saw Chie was about to remove her hand from the microphone. "Is it Kanzaki that's got Kuga's passion burning?"

Her theory seemed pretty plausible to her – Natsuki had gone ballistic after she had learned by Kimura that Reito had been hurt. And Nao had to admit that Kanzaki really had looked strikingly handsome when she had seen him a few days back, thus she wouldn't be surprised if the school's pretty boy and infamous rebel were involved in a romantic kind of way. Chie snorted.

"Close, but no cigar," she was snickering into her hand now.

Then it dawned on her and she mentally cringed.

'So it's a love-hate relationship, huh?' Nao didn't even venture to say it out loud, since she was afraid to call upon all of nature's disasters if she did indeed voice her deduction.

* * *

Now the distribution of the suits was clear, the bidding had finished, she knew what the opposing team held; each and every single card. What was left a secret was the identity of her opponents, however that possessed no threat to her, since it didn't matter in this game. What was important was that they had participated in the auction without consideration and this proved fatal. It always did. But not for her; never for her. Now all that was left was to play their hands.

Natsuki was crouching at the bottom of the staircase, her comrades surrounding her, their weapons drawn. She lifted the walkie-talkie to her mouth and switched the device on.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen from the Kisame," she greeted. She wasn't worried about her voice being recognized by the faculty members, because of the mask she was wearing, which muffled it pretty well. "I would kindly request to speak to Gouda-san."

Only silence was heard for several seconds and each of the teenagers held their breath in anticipation. Natsuki frowned and was going to repeat herself when the familiar crackling noise was heard and they were answered by a gruff male voice.

"_And why should we give you Gouda-aniki?"_ he carped at them.

"Because we have your boys back at the docks by the balls," she lied casually. "I'm sure that your base, which is by the way conveniently unguarded at this very moment, will make a nice filial to our gang. Fine cargo ships you've got, as well. Too bad most of your men are on them at sea, Gouda-san."

He was listening, she was sure. Her words were once again followed by a pregnant pause, which caused her eyebrows to twitch. Were these people retarded? They had been the ones to jam the premises of Fuuka High School, of course they had no way to check if she was bluffing. She just knew they were checking exactly that.

"_I'm Gouda. And who are you?"_ finally an annoyed and masculine reply was heard.

"Does it really matter? I guess there's really no point for hiding it from you, though. I'm Blackwood's second-in-command, Kruger," Natsuki spoke coolly.

"_Is that so? What does the bastard want?"_ insultingly snarled Kinzou, however it seemed he knew both of the names.

"For you to let the faculty members go and get the hell off the school's premises," put out her demands the young woman. They were answered by a roaring laughter, one unbecoming of a being on a higher level than a hyena.

"_And why should we listen to 'im?"_ the leader of the Kisame decided to entertain himself.

"Because you don't possess the information the Golden Era sent you to retrieve and you don't have any means to obtain it. Blackwood is of the belief that if you go back now with your tail behind your legs and beg for mercy, they just might forgive you. Probably not, though," she paused for a bit of a dramatic effect. How she loved to play on people's nerves. "But, Gouda-san, we can provide you with a means to get what you want."

Gouda fell silent. During that time Natsuki recalled their conversation up until now and noticed how easily she had transformed from her usual self to the leader of T.N.T. Her manner of speaking changed, depending on which role she was taking up.

Right now she was Blackwood, who had his way with words, didn't stutter when a bit nervous and didn't raise his tone. The real her was his complete opposite, but she needed him like he needed her – they both required each other in order to exist and survive. She wasn't letting him go until she had completed her goals; all of them.

"_What do you offer?"_ Kinzou ventured to ask at last.

"Somebody who can enter the server's database and extract the files you need. We've got Kikukawa Yukino."

"_You are offering to send one person to us, while we let go of twenty? Don't make me laugh!"_ it almost hurt her ears to hear the bastard shout like that to her.

"No," Natsuki replied. "My whole team and I will be coming along with her, as a token of Blackwood's trust."

He was considering it, Natsuki concluded with well hidden glee. She was feeling kind of bad about Yukino, but only to a certain degree. After all, she was granting the girl her protection, Blackwood's protection.

"_Very well. Come inside Himeno's office with the girl within the next six minutes, or the deal's off."_

"I don't believe you have the liberty to put up conditions, Gouda-san. Nevertheless we will try to honor your request."

* * *

The recording they had heard earlier hadn't included that last part, or at least it wasn't formulated like that, Nao thought. It stated that the team would be going directly to the leader of the opposing gang, but said nothing about them bringing another girl with them, much less bargain with said girl's freedom. As a matter of fact, the plan they played to Takata, was:

"_Dear Brian, I understand that you have your reasons to distrust my second-in-command. Ah! Don't speak, just listen to me and have no doubt in my decisions. After you countered the East's bidding with your North's, you'll have to do the same with the South's to their West's announcement*._

"_When you get to the part of playing your hands, you'll need to make a squeeze**. This will happen with direct confrontation; there is no other way. I trust you'll follow Kruger's lead and I entrust to you the important task to correct any mistakes, if such are made and in your opinion are essentially threatening to our team. You are dismissed, Brian. Wish my team best of luck." _

'Kuga is too cold and calculating,' the flame-head remarked to herself with a frown. 'Or was that Blackwood?'

* * *

Glossary:

* The four cardinal points serve to identify the players in bridge. In this case Natsuki's team is South and North, while the opponent's team is East and West.

**Squeeze – a move, which forces an opponent to discard a card, which gives up a trick (or more).


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hello there!**__**I'm running on big doses on caffeine and little sleep, since I've got humongous amounts of homework and a lot of studying to do. But enough about me, let's get on with this. I want to thank all of the people, who are reading and those, who have reviewed. I didn't think that reviews posed such a great motivation for an author (even an amateur like myself), so please keep sending feedback ^^ Anyways, I am kinda glad how this chapter turned out and we're nearing the beginning of the 'Memory Arc' I've planned to set out soon. I'm so anxious, it hurts! (mostly my eyes, really)**_

**DISCLAIMER: I realized that "Sunrise" owns most of my favorite anime, one of them being Mai-HiME.**

_**Hope you enjoy, but nevertheless - tell me what you think afterward, please!**_ ^w^

* * *

"I refuse to let her go anywhere!"

"It's already been decided," Haruka winced slightly when four guns were pointed at her general direction when she stood up, her fists clenched in front of her. She gritted her teeth and was surely going to launch at the closest member of the team, if it hadn't been for Yukino's timid interruption.

"It's okay, Haruka-chan. I want to help get us out of this predicament and if going with these people is the only way, I'll take the risk," her moss-green eyes met the Executive's lavender ones. Before Suzushiro could reply, Natsuki cut in.

"Good, let's go, then," she motioned for Yukino to get up and exit the room, along with four members of her team, entrusting Shizuru, Suzushiro and now the confused, but awake, Kanzaki once again to Kimura. The young man had come to just when the gang had re-entered the room with the demand to take Yukino with them to the leader of Kisame. The troublesome task of explaining what had transpired during Reito's slumber was given to the president, who, if not anything else, was glad to find out her friend hadn't been hurt badly.

'Natsuki, what are you going to do now?' ruby-colored eyes squeezed shut and Shizuru clenched and unclenched her fists in vain attempts to calm herself down. She couldn't keep it up for very long before going out there and doing something reckless, because of the knowledge Natsuki was once again in danger.

Not fully aware of what was transpiring, but knowing when his friend was nervous, Reito put a comforting hand on her shoulder and granted her with that reassuring smile of his. This didn't ease her fears, however.

Haruka slumped in a chair defeated and grumbled something incoherent, glaring a hole in the poor floor.

And then suddenly Kimura upped and left without a word. They heard that the door was blocked from outside with something.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Now, now, Haruka-san, no need to…" said Reito.

"Don't even think about saying it!"

* * *

Natsuki, Akane, Kazuya, Takata, Dekasugi and Yukino were standing before the principal's office. To say that the latter was unnerved would be an understatement, for she was anxiously shuffling with the hem of her school uniform's skirt in order to keep herself distracted from the fact that the leader of the team had posed a twenty minute limit on her. Yukino didn't know what was made this demand for, but it seemed the other three weren't much affected by that decision.

The gang leader lifted her hand and knocked on the door, which opened immediately, revealing two men, but no headmistress Himeno. One of the men had opened the door and confiscated their weapons before letting them in, while the other occupant of the room was behind a big wooden desk, which had two fairly big monitors on it. He was standing tall, his broad shoulders blocking some of the sunlight coming from the windows behind him. He had nicely trimmed short black hair, brown eyes and a smile that told 'I've got you now.'

Now unarmed, the six newcomers were shoved at a wall and held under gun-point by Gouda's underling.

"Is there only five of you?" Kinzo lifted a bushy eyebrow in question.

"Please don't make me laugh, Gouda-san," Natsuki replied. She had made it known throughout Fuuka's gangs that T.N.T. didn't participate in fights with more than five of its members. It was one of her trump cards after all. She planned to keep the real number of her… Blackwood's followers secret.

The gangster waved his arm dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, I know about your measly numbers. Blackwood thinks he's so high and mighty, trying to take down his enemies with so little force! Ha! Pointless, I tell ya. And this situation proves it!"

"We've been seen through, I suppose," stoically spoke the girl.

"Bet you were. Now, let's get to business," he motioned for Yukino to come to them and the timorous student did as told.

"Before we start with the extraction of data," interrupted Natsuki. "Blackwood would like to add the finishing touch to our agreement," before he could speak, she continued. "Within the next twenty minutes four groups of hostages will be released, guided outside by two of your men. For the deal to be fair, I'll send one of Blackwood's people with each of the groups. They will be unarmed, of course. The teachers will be released, while your men will be waiting for you inside the building, keeping Blackwood's under gun-point. At the end of the twenty minutes, the only ones, left in the room will be Gouda-san, Kikukawa Yukino and myself."

"Why should I agree to this?" barked the leader of Kisame, obviously irritated that he was being commanded.

"Because I see no disadvantages for you, Gouda-san. You get out with all of your men, get the disk with the information the Golden Era wants and take Blackwood's second-in-command and three of his subordinates with you as a trophy from your victorious mission."

"What's in it for you lot?"

"We fight opposing gangs and for the sake of this city; the securing of the hostages comes as a priority. Unfortunately, this time a miscalculation was made and we are forced to make a few sacrifices," she referred to herself and her comrades.

Kinzou was silent for a moment before agreeing to the terms. It was safe for him, he thought. He was going to be left in this room with gradually less and less of the enemies and at the end it would be just him, a big and strong man, with a cocky small subordinate of Blackwood's and a helpless glasses girl. He called the men, who held the teachers captive, to give them Natsuki's instructions.

"You are a man of reason, Gouda-san," complimented him Natsuki. This had been very well-played, indeed. Now the only crucial moment was for the first group to get out.

Yukino sat on the computer and started working, while being supervised by Gouda. Kinzou knew what information he needed, but didn't know how to get to it. The accursed headmistress hadn't been in the building when they had taken it over and he couldn't ask her. Their intelligence had said otherwise! They had been compromised at the very beginning, but it didn't matter now; they were getting what they wanted and even more. He quietly sniggered. The first five minutes had passed and the first group of hostages had been released, along with one of Blackwood's. His brown orbs darted briefly to the screen, showing footage of the security cameras and he saw two women scurrying out the doors. One of his men showed and waved at the cameras, showing that everything was going smoothly.

'Perfect,' he inwardly cheered. If the first group had been successful, there was no need for further worries.

Takata was looking stoically ahead at the opposing gang's leader and the member of the student council, who was typing actively on the keyboard. He ventured a glance at Kruger, who he was sure was wearing that impassive expression again under that mask. He turned his gaze away and remembered what their winning strategy was this time.

"_The first group to exit will be the one with Michael in it," she quietly explained to them, while they were all in the student council's room. She still hadn't informed the other students that they would be taking Yukino with them. The upholders of the rules were at the other side of the room and were watching the small meeting with alert._

"_Lilith, you'll leave this room shortly after we do and hide behind the door, leading to the basement, where we came from. They will descend the stairs and go straight for the exit. One of them will stay behind with Michael, while the other will see the teachers off. During that short spawn of time, you will attack the man, holding Michael. Choose your timing wisely. Blackwood said it was one of the most important parts of the operation. _

"_While you're taking the first enemy down, Michael will do the same with the other, who will most likely give his boss a sign through the camera, that there were no obstacles. After he does that, Michael will take care of him. _

"_The next group will be easier to deal with, since you'll have the numbers evened. Then you'll have an addition to the team. After the last group is released, your job will be finished and all of you will separate and return to your dorms. Before that you'll release the student council's members from this room, which Lilith would have jammed from the outside with something; I'll leave the decision of what with to you. You'll inform them to evacuate from the building in five minutes. Questions regarding the playing of the hand?"_

"_I wish to be the one to go with the last group," said Takata._

"_As you wish, Brian."_

So far everything was going as planned. There were two more of his comrades to go before his turn was up.

* * *

Is it easier for humans to believe in lies and in false personas, than in the truth and real people?

'Yes, yes it is,' concluded Nao.

The members of T.N.T. had no solid proof that Blackwood existed, except for a male voice, coming out of a computer, which gave out orders. He always turned out right, though, so they believed. They didn't need to see him. Because, seeing, as Nao had drawn an inference, was not at all the same as believing. When they saw that there was no fearless invincible leader, they would stop believing in the impossible and that would bring their fall. Yes, on the border where seeing began, belief was halted and put under arrest. Now she understood why Blackwood had followers and why they trusted Kuga, who was like God's vicar in this gang war. She conveyed the Almighty's words to the believers, who obeyed them out of veneration and fear of going to Hell if opposing.

The two girls in the Bridge club's room daren't speak or move a muscle. This was the part of the game, where they could only watch, or listen in their case, how the hands were played. Each of them was engrossed in their own thoughts and emotions regarding this whole situation.

* * *

Nearly half an hour had passed since Shizuru, Reito and Haruka had been left to their own devices. During that time the vice-president and the loud Executive had had an argument, or it was most like Haruka had argued with herself, while the handsome boy tried to reconcile 'angry Suzushiro' with 'reasonable Suzushiro'. He was fighting a losing battle, as was 'reasonable Suzushiro'. Then Shizuru had decided it was high time she did something to prevent the mini-war from happening on her mini-dominion.

"If Haruka-han calms down, sits comfortably and maybe wait quietly, time would pass considerably faster, yes? Kikukawa-han shouldn't be in any danger right now, since both parties need her, am I right?"

"Fujino! How dare you say this!" exclaimed her self-proclaimed rival.

"There is no need to get hysterical," reasoned with the lioness the student council president.

"What there is no need of is staying as calm as you are!" heatedly responded Haruka. Further comments were prevented by a shuffling from the other side of the door, which made all three of them jump to their feet. Except for Shizuru; she didn't jump, she just gracefully stood up in a swift manner.

"_Leave the building through the back entrance in five minutes from now,"_ said somebody from the other side. It sounded like the door was being un-jammed, but nothing followed after that.

"Wait, Haruka-han," Shizuru stopped the girl, who had bolted for the door. This earned her a demanding and impatient stare, which she answered with a smile. "We should wait for the five minutes to pass. Ah, I believe that they have turned four just now. How time flies!"

* * *

Natsuki eyed the gun Gouda was pointing at her eerily. The clock on the wall showed that twenty two minutes had passed and all hostages had been released by this moment. Yukino was finishing up the data transfer to the DVD and they were going to leave for downstairs next.

"Is the transfer completed?" the leader of Kisame asked and in reply received the disk's ejection from the computer. He put it in a case and stuffed it in his coat's inside pocket. Emerald eyes followed his every movement, noting where the information was stored.

Kinzou turned to her and said, "I suggest we make our way out, Kruger? We'll be locking dear Kikukawa-san inside here."

He dangled a set of keys with his gun-free hand.

"Let's," Natsuki stood up and waited to be lead out of the room. 'One minute,' she thought. 'I need to stall him a bit.'

The door was shut and locked by Kinzou, who never let T.N.T.'s member out of his scrutinizing gaze.

"Before we descend, Gouda-san, would you mind telling me how you jammed the school's communications? We were quite troubled when unable to keep up with Blackwood's orders. This is probably why we lost," she admitted, pausing at the top of the stairs.

"Like I care, Golden Era gave us a device and instructed us how to use it. I won't be telling you where it is, though!" he barked with laughter, which abruptly stopped when he growled at her to 'get a move on'.

She could hear the faint trod of footsteps down the corridor below, which signalized that the game was almost finished. This was the last turn.

Gouda had too heard the running, Natsuki noted with a smirk. She had played him so that he wouldn't see the student council escape on the surveillance monitor. He urged her to descend the stairs before him. She didn't wait to be told twice.

Once she was next to the banister, she grabbed it with both her hands and leapt over it, falling in a roll on the floor. She wasted no time to dash around the corner, connecting the small lobby and the corridor with the archives and student council room. A few bullets ricocheted off the ground where her right foot had been a second ago. Now Natsuki was with her back pressed firmly to the wall, which hid her from Kinzou.

"Fuck!" she heard him curse. Was he cursing because his men weren't there? Or was it because she had escaped? Either way, cursing wouldn't help him. It was only the two of them in the building at the moment.

"What will you do, Gouda? All your men are dead. Did you really think that we would give up so easily?" she taunted him. The firing of the gun rang out three times and the bullets met the wall opposite of her.

'The fool has only two more rounds to go,' she almost laughed. Was he really a leader of a gang? He didn't even keep count of his rounds.

"Well? Do you think you'll escape with the data?" judging from the place the bullets had made contact with the opposite wall, Natsuki saw that if her head had been a little bit in the open, she would be laying on the floor with her brains blown out. At least the man had memorized her height and was an accurate shooter, she thought. And he was keeping quiet for the time being, which meant that he was going to come at her. He knew she was unarmed.

'You'll be in for a surprise, asshole,' Natsuki had crouched on the floor. She had told him where she was and he was coming to get her. Exactly what she wanted.

Kinzou spun around the corner, his right arm outstretched, as he fired once, but his bullet didn't meet its predetermined target. Instead he felt the gun flying out of his arm and a sharp pain shot through his wrist. He became aware of the crouching enemy below him that had a foot shot upwards, causing the painful kick, which had made him drop his weapon.

Becoming a black blur, Natsuki didn't waste time and aimed a punch at his jaw, while she was straightening from her crouch. The hit connected with Gouda and sent him staggering back a few steps. This wasn't enough, though.

The leader of Kisame was a strong man and he had earned his position by brute force. He had leaded his gang relying on power and muscles alone, which had earned him the respect of those below him as a 'headstrong boss'. So when he was hit, he hit back with twice the ferocity. Natsuki met his offence head-on since she had had no time to dodge, startled by the fact that her opponent had recovered so quickly.

His big clenched fist met with her abdomen and sent her a few feet back staggering, gasping for air. It wasn't like the biker wasn't a gifted fighter, but this had most certainly took her by surprise. She felt as if she had been hit with a metal baseball bat. If he succeeded to land another punch, it would be over for her. There he was coming!

Kinzou directed another merciless punch this time at the girl's head, which she barely dodged by diving sideways. Now being at his side, she saw an opening below the man's outstretched arm and aimed a sideway kick at his ribs. Her green orbs widened when her foot was caught by Gouda's other big hand and he smiled a bloody grin at her. The bastard had been baiting her to attack him there! He had deliberately crated an opening.

"Caught ya," he snarled and yanked her leg towards him. This provided a doubled force for the back-lashing hit of the back of his hardened arm. Caught up in the inertia of the abrupt jerking movement, Natsuki couldn't prevent the impact that came to her jaw. Her lip split and she felt blood's metal taste in her mouth before her back connected with the floor, followed by her head. Her vision blurred and everything around her seemed to merge into one distorted smear.

The mask was removed from her face with a hasty move, but she could muster no strength and try to pull it back on. Even though she couldn't see him clearly, she knew that the man was staring at her; the high school student.

She still felt Gouda's iron grip around her ankle and registered his voice, although it was a bit unclear and vague.

"Like it down there, girlie? 'Cuz that's where you'll be staying! I'll avenge my…!" he was cut off by a single gun-shot. A bullet-hole was opened between his eyes and he slumped to the ground soundlessly.

In her state of drifting between staying awake and falling unconscious, Natsuki wasn't sure if who she was seeing was indeed there. But she was supposed to be…?

* * *

Chie had shot up from her spot and the chair clanked behind her. Natsuki's communicator was just transmitting a buzzing noise and nothing more. Before that she had only heard some remarks that Natsuki had made, which were followed by what sounded like a fight.

'Hurry up, Nao-chan,' she clenched her fists and hoped that the worst hadn't happened. Nao had left the room a few minutes ago, wanting to go check out what was happening. Chie had told her to use the route Natsuki and the others had used when infiltrating the building and had told her to bring a weapon.

"_I'll just be Kuga's escort back here, no need for me to take a weapon,"_ the newest gang member had waved it off casually before snatching a flash-light and heading for the 'party'. She wondered if she had allowed Nao to venture into her death.

* * *

She had told Haruka that as student council president she would take care of the problem, revolving around Yukino. She had protested that she would do the job herself, like always, but Shizuru told her that she would demand and file a claim for Haruka's resignation herself. That proved to convince the Executive just how serious she was. 'I trust you, Fujino,' she had told her before leaving the building together with Reito. And how glad was Shizuru that she had stayed behind.

She had heard all of the shooting and shouting from her hiding place behind the student council room's slightly ajar door. When the sounds of a brawl had reached her ears, she had quietly, but exceptionally fast, left the room and picked up the gun that had been lying on the ground near the corridor's corner. As she peeked around it, her crimson eyes widened in utter horror.

A huge man stood, his back turned on her and was gripping the ankle of a person, who was sprawled on the floor motionlessly. What struck Shizuru was the familiar raven black hair, which had a streak of blue in it when lit by sunlight. This was her Natsuki on the ground. Without a moment's hesitation, she lifted the gun and fired right at the man's head. She would have shot more at the beast, but she was out of bullets. The gun clicked a few times, her finger pressing the trigger unconsciously, however nothing happened. Dropping the weapon, she rushed to the other girl's side and knelt beside her.

"Natsuki, Natsuki!" she gripped her shoulder. Her love's emerald eyes were opened, but were strangely unseeing and dull.

"Natsuki…" the president repeated a bit more gently. She wouldn't be able to take it if something irremediable had befallen the younger girl and she had been unable to help. Shizuru didn't dare to move her, out of fear that she could cause more damage to her most precious person.

Natsuki blinked slowly, the light gradually returned to her eyes, when she heard the familiar voice calling out to her. She slowly turned her head to the source of the voice and she would've smiled if she weren't so confused.

"Shi… Shizuru?" she rasped, causing the other girl to smile softly at her and nod her head, her honey tresses bouncing around her face. "I told them to…"

"I know, my Natsuki. But you are aware that I never listen to Natsuki, yes?" the sweet Kyoto accented words filled her whole being. She frowned, instead of smiling. This also hurt like hell. The gang leader made an attempt to get up, but found herself unable to move as well as she wanted, so she asked Shizuru to help her, as much as it was embarrassing for her.

Soon she was on her feet, gripping Shizuru for support. She was going to scold her later for coming and not complying with her, though. Despite being grateful that she had received the student council president's assistance when she was in such a need for it. She hadn't expected that she could lose in a fight against Gouda, but was proved wrong. What a huge blow that was to her ego! And her mistake had forced Shizuru to…

"I'm sorry," she whispered to her support. "I'm so sorry."

Shizuru smiled bitterly and adjusted better Natsuki so that she could hold her more comfortably. She was aware of what she was apologizing for.

"What a good child Natsuki is," her reply irritated the second-year, but she said nothing. Natsuki knew that to Shizuru she would always remain a 'child' and she could not change it.

"You should get Yukino and get out. I'll manage from here," Natsuki dead-panned and stopped not too far away from the door, leading to the basement.

'Please, don't come with me!'

"I can't just leave Natsuki like this," Shizuru pouted playfully. How was she able to behave like that in such circumstances? She was unbelievable!

"You came back for Yukino, not for me. I can figure out this much. Besides, the cameras haven't recorded you going out. It would be suspicious if you came inside and didn't come back out after something like that happened. Go, please," demanded, more than requested, Natsuki.

"But then how did you get in? You had…"

"Hey there, Kuga! Whoa, got your ass whooped, didn't you?" Shizuru was interrupted by a rather rude greeting, in her humble opinion. When her rubies turned to the source of the voice, she saw the girl, which had been spotted with her Natsuki on more than once or two occasions.

"Natsuki, who might that young lady be?" the always-polite president inquired, displaying an undertone of reproach towards the newcomer, who was now looking around in mock-curiosity with her lime orbs.

"Yeah, Kuga, who's the pretty girl? I thought that you were interested in Suzushiro?"

The flame-haired girl's statement was followed by a still silence. Shizuru lifted omnisciently a perfect brow at Natsuki, who glared at Nao, who in return smirked.

"Did I hit my head too hard, or did you just imply that… Oh, screw you!" the leader of T.N.T. cried out and winced at the sudden pain in her abdomen and jaw at the same time. 'Auch, frowning – bad, talking – worse, shouting – not for all the mayo in the… supermarket,' she concluded.

"Meh, whatever. I'm here to pick you up. You coming, or are you going to cling onto that girl for ages?" Nao taunted her.

"I don't have time for this…" Natsuki quietly told herself, lifting a hand to her eyes, but her beloved also heard her. "Nao, there's a DVD in the dead bastard's inner pocket, retrieve it."

"Ara, if Natsuki doesn't have the time for me, I guess she would be in the perfect company of her red-haired friend," Shizuru couldn't explain why she was so angry at the second-year. All she knew was that it was fact. "She didn't want me to help her to her escape route, even. I'll be going to fetch Kikukawa-han now."

Nao, after unwillingly doing what she was told, ventured to go near the two and wrapped an arm around Natsuki's waist, who winced, but made no other indication she was hurt. Nao smiled a half-smile at the oldest of the three and reassured her that Natsuki would be just fine with her. They parted ways and Shizuru went for the stairs, without sparing Natsuki a glance. The latter's gaze lingered on the place where the student council president had disappeared seconds ago and she reluctantly limped to the basement, supported by the shorter girl.

Kuga, Nao observed, shivered involuntarily with each step, but kept her eyes trained ahead and her expression stoic. They had descended the steps, littered by the bodies of Kisame's members, killed during the fight and hidden in here. On her way up, the first-year had nearly tripped over one of them. The sight was shocking at first and the smell was horrendous.

"You didn't want her to see this, right?" she broke the silence. What she received was only a nod. "Kuga, you okay?"

"Peachy. Look, can we talk some other time? I'm really not in the mood," she replied haughtily, but after she was barely able to make out Nao's slightly hurt expression in the darkness, asked. "But, really: Suzushiro? What gave you the idea?"

"Uh… never mind," muttered the other girl and opened the door to the boiler room for them.

The hole on the floor wasn't big, but had made enough rubble on the ground beneath it to help Nao on her way here. She hoped that they would be able to descend without problems and get out of the smelly canalization more expeditiously. With Kuga's limping, though, that was hardly to happen.

To her surprise, Natsuki tore herself away from her support and went to the hole, swaying. Before she could voice any kind of protest, the other girl had jumped down in the stench.

"Kuga!" Nao rushed to the hole and looked down it. Natsuki stood up shakily and looked up, her face's pale features visible even in the darkness. Clicking with her tongue in disapproval, Nao also jumped down in the smelly waste-waters. She winced in disgust and went to the older girl to offer her help, but was silently refused when she started stumping on her own down the route they had come from not more than an hour ago. Teeth greeted and fists clenched at her sides, Nao followed. What was Kuga's problem? She had only tried to help!

"What's with you?" she asked dejectedly after they reached the stairs, above which was the shaft.

"I lost," whispered Natsuki before she started climbing up.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi. To tell you the truth, I feel ashamed. In all the time I've had my account, I didn't find the time to favorite and review other stories, which I like T.T The only thing that I do when I enter my account is to check briefly if something needs my attention or upload a new chapter. And I want to favorite and comment so many things, too! *sigh* Anyways, I hope you people have been well in the past week! And now, for the long anticipated (at least I like to think so) ShizNat moment! Even though I'm not that good at romantic stuff, I decided to give it a try, since this relationship is an important part of this story. So, um, enjoy and tell me what you think, if you want to! ^^**

**Disclaimer: Mai-HiME =/= mine. **

* * *

They were walking in silence, sneaking into the dorms and being able to get to their destination without spotted by anyone on their way there. When Nao pushed the door open, she felt the instinctive need to dive for cover. No, all Hell hadn't been let loose. It was merely Mai, but from such a short distance, they couldn't tell the difference.

"Get over here this instant!" Mai ordered and Natsuki decided that this was the first time in her life she preferred to be in Suzushiro's company more than Mai's, if the volume of the voice was the determining factor. If not only that, Mai could be quite scary when angry and this evening she was emitting an aura of 'Furious'. Both rule-breakers complied, one with lack of enthusiasm, caused mostly by fear, and the other with limping, caused by injuries.

Mai's unmistakable presence had managed to block out the other room's occupants' – Aoi's and Mikoto's. They seemed all too reluctant to say anything so as not to draw the divine wrath upon themselves. Even Mikoto looked like a tamed little kitten, which was lying low, because of being scolded that it had ruined its owner's brand new expensive curtains.

"Come!" she dragged Natsuki to the girl's unmade and tumbled bed.

"Sit!" the helpless girl was pushed down and almost cried out in pain, but her pride assisted her in keeping the wail in.

"Roll over," said under her nose Nao and smirked in delighted mockery at the situation unfolding before her. Mai was pulling Natsuki's top up, while the other struggled, quite unsuccessfully, to keep it on her form.

"Cut it out, you idiot! I can take care of myself!" she protested, fending off her friend's attacks using her last supplies of energy. The effect of the adrenaline had evaporated from her system and she was beginning to feel the exhaustion taking over her. She really wasn't in the mood of Mai fussing over some minor injuries, which would be gone by the day after tomorrow.

"Obviously you can't! Ah! I give up! Stay here until I get something to clean that cut on your lip and the blood from your face," Mai stomped to the bathroom and came back within seconds, holding a small wash basin, two clean towels and a bottle of antiseptic. She worked on the other girl, who was averse to be helped in any manner, but accepted the assistance, because she was too tired to argue more than she already had.

While this transpired, eager for news, Aoi turned to Nao, a trace of concern on her face. "What happened?" she asked.

"Hell if I know," shrugged Nao. "When I got up through the hole in the floor, there was a pile of bodies thrown in the basement and after I got out from there, I saw Kuga being helped by a weird red-eyed chick. There was also a big man lying on the floor, a hole through his head," she decided to skip the part, where the two older girls seemed to have an argument.

"Fujino-san was there? How unexpected! The president is so hard to figure out and full of surprises. She and Natsuki make such a fascinating couple," Aoi laughed light-heartedly in relief. Lime eyes nailed blue ones in the instant Aoi had said 'couple'.

"Wait, what? Kuga and that weirdo are together?" Nao blurted out, without thinking. So that was why Kuga had behaved like a mad animal, killing off the other gangsters without mercy.

In the short period of time she had known her, never had she imagined that the older student could be involved romantically with another person. The speculation of Suzushiro and Kanzaki didn't count, since it had been made under unfavorable circumstances. But that Fujino girl had been in a whole different league and she could have told that with just a brief observation, so what was the notorious rebel doing with the archetype of the perfect schoolgirl?

"I can still hear you, you gossip-mongers!" barked Natsuki, who now looked somewhat presentable with her face cleaned up. She stood up, went to her wardrobe, cracked it open and hurriedly pulled out a pair of old shorts and a light-blue hoodie. After shooting Nao and Aoi a dirty look, she went to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.

Natsuki pulled up her tattered and stained black top and winced at the forming black-blue bruise on her abdomen. She sighed; there was no helping it, she had to bear with it for at least a couple of days. A quick shower wouldn't be too bad to get rid of the horrendous smell from the canalization that still lingered in her hair, she decided and after stripping her remaining pieces of clothing, she entered the cabin.

Meanwhile in the dorm room Nao was still finding it hard to collect her wits about her. Mai was looking at her and Aoi in an accusing way, while Mikoto was trying to scheme a plan to make her care-taker prepare a big portion of ramen for her rumbling stomach.

"Why did you have to say that?" Mai scolded Aoi quietly, so as not to be heard by the one in the bathroom. "You know it's a sore subject for her, since they've been hiding it for safety's sake."

Mai shook her head and sighed, sitting on the floor next to the other three. Aoi looked slightly ashamed and quietly apologized, stating softly that she hadn't meant any harm, but only wanted to express her happiness that things had gone smooth and in the end none of their friends had been hurt.

Nao decided that it was too unsafe to ask more questions this night, since the person she wanted to inquire about was far too close for comfort. Another negative aspect of revealing her desire to know more was that she could easily ruin her image of constant nonchalance and apathy for anything and anyone, besides herself. She didn't want that.

'Not that I care about Kuga, or anything,' she tried to convince herself and somewhat succeeded. Up until the object of her musings re-entered the room and stood in front of them, her hair wet, hands crossed over her chest and clad in a very casual manner. Nao hadn't seen her in anything beside her school uniform and that black outfit from earlier, so she found herself unable to shift her lime orbs away from the unusual sight.

"Nao," she realized she was being addressed by her. "Could you give me the disk you got from that guy?"

"What's on it?" Nao handed the DVD to Natsuki, who wrinkled her nose when she retrieved the item. "What?"

"You fucking stink," was the huskily pronounced offending reply. "Go take a shower or something."

Lime eyes narrowed and their owner hissed threateningly. "Why, I think what I deserve is a 'thank you', not a smelly comment. I did go there, 'cuz of your stupidity, mutt."

This was followed by a low guttural growl from the already irritated leader, who threw the disk box on her night-stand before bothering to retort portentously.

"I should be breaking your neck, you know, for going against my orders," Natsuki was staring Nao down.

"Like you did to that guy for no apparent reason?" Nao shot back venomously.

Mai felt that this was her cue to enter and prevent something very unpleasant from occurring in the middle of the little dorm room, but a hand on her knee prevented her from doing so. Her lilac eyes met the rarely serious golden ones of Mikoto, who shook her head and whispered, "This is important. Don't get between them."

The gang leader's stance was getting aggressive and so was the first-year's unwavering gaze. Nao had thought on Natsuki's earlier act of unneeded violence and the lies she had told her about how keeping your cool and making unbiased decisions lead to victory. She was mad at her for not standing by her own words of wisdom and justice. This whole hostage situation hadn't been resolved in the name of justice, it had been a massacre for those who had dared to step over unknowingly into T.N.T.'s territory.

Natsuki gritted her teeth. She knew that she had been overcome by her emotions at that moment, but her conviction was that she had been right. The world worked like that, after all. If you didn't take away, you would be taken from. It was cruel, it was sad, but it was real. She didn't bother with an answer to Nao's remark; she knew that the other girl had her reasons to be angry at her.

"Weren't you… we the ones, who were opposing the unfairness of the criminal world? Why did you just kill all those people off? Wasn't Blackwood the good guy?" Nao was shouting out all of her questions to the one in front of her. The answer to her angry inquiries wasn't what she had expected. She was taken aback when she was laughed at – a cruel, mocking and hoarse voice sounding clearly in her ears.

Natsuki had a hand over her eyes, her head leaning backwards, her whole body shaking with laughter. Her white teeth were bared in a twisted leer in an uncharacteristic display of amusement. When the laugh died down to sinister chuckles, she let her arm fall by her side; her emeralds were now a darker shade of green and a few damp raven locks fell in front of them. She locked her gaze with Nao's, who involuntarily took a step back.

"I see," Nao was granted a derisive smile. "I see what your dilemma is, Nao. I believe you find this whole episode such a problem, because you think there are 'good guys' and 'bad guys'. You're wrong, of course. There are, have been and will be only, I repeat _only_, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides."

"I…" rasped the first-year, a bit shaken from the rationalization she had received. She knew it held a portion of truth. The biggest portion of life's essence served on the banquet of iniquity, as a matter of fact. "I refuse to be… to become an immoral lunatic like you, Kuga!"

"Never mind that little flaw of yours," the green-eyed devil smirked. "You'll soon fit in."

"I'm getting out of here," Nao shook her head and strode for the door. She flung it open and she met the crimson eyes she had seen earlier in that wretched place. They both froze, their feet stuck to the ground, neither of them making the first move.

"Did we interrupt?" came Chie's voice from behind the slender figure standing in the doorway.

"Not really, I was just leaving," answered the furious first-year before pushing past the two, who looked after her questioningly.

"You can't run away! Yuuki Nao!" Natsuki's words rushed after the retreating form of the stomping girl. They were followed by Mai and Mikoto, who practically flew past Natsuki, but not before Mai shot her best friend a reproaching look, which spoke tons of silent disapproval.

"I think I should go, too," standing up, declared Aoi. When she went to the door, she bowed with a polite "Have a nice evening, president", grabbed the disgruntled by the lack of information Chie and left Natsuki only with the other girl. The door was closed.

Silence followed, neither of the two was quite ready to lead a conversation without snapping at the other. Since Shizuru had always been the braver of them when it came to their relationship and interactions, she decided to be the one to start to talk.

"Is Natsuki feeling well enough to be up and about?" an innocent question like this one was best suited for the situation.

"I should be asking you that. Why don't you rest?" now, calmer than before, Natsuki was able to act more open – she was tired and low-spirited.

Only in front of Shizuru could she let herself look like that. With her she was nothing but herself. It didn't matter that her back wasn't upright – the very act of being more imposing. Or that her shoulders were slumped, like the weight of the taken lives was pressing them mercilessly down. Or that her normally straight and silky hair was wet and disheveled.

"Ara," the student council president sat herself on Natsuki's bed. "I am somewhat afraid of what I will see when I close my eyes," she admitted quietly, almost undetectably for the other occupant of the room.

She really was scared; she knew that despite the fact that she had killed in order to protect, it wasn't right to take a life away. All her life she had lived with that belief and now it was going to punish her in her subconsciousness for her disobedience. The crimson eyed beauty felt the weight next to her, but didn't look up from the bare wooden floor.

"And to tell you the truth, the police will probably be questioning us later, so I won't have the time to rest. I saw them arrive earlier."

"I heard nothing, though," Natsuki voiced her statement more like a question. She was now sitting cross-legged on top of her tumbled blankets, not too far from Shizuru, in case her dearest person needed her comfort. The pain from taking a life away didn't go away, she had learned; it just got number as time went by. There was no escape, though.

"It was most unusual, I must admit. Instead of normal police-officers, came special agents, or so we were told when Haruka-han demanded to know who was taking Kikukawa-han away," answered Shizuru, now lifting her head up and meeting curious and suspicious emeralds. "I don't think they were the government's men, Natsuki."

"Indeed, it does sound fishy," Natsuki yawned, trying to look indifferent in order to hide her anxiety to go and check things out for herself. She had her doubts about the school's higher-ups and the ones actually pulling the strings from behind. On numerous occasions she had been given reasons to suspect something was terribly wrong with the way students were admitted, taught and how some of them disappeared without a trace after graduation.

"Natsuki wants to go and see for herself, I see," Shizuru sighed and tilted her head a bit, smiling softly when seeing her beloved flinch.

"Is it that obvious?" Natsuki frowned.

"No, Natsuki has become brilliant at hiding her emotions when necessary," complemented Shizuru, while leaning a bit closer to her lover, searching unconsciously for the warmth of the other she was in such a need for at the moment. It had been a hectic day, after all.

"Really, though, I don't think that I'll ever be able to fool you, Shizuru," Natsuki had noticed that the crimson eyes were duller, the perfect smile wasn't as care-free and the delicate body was tense. She moved behind her beloved and pulled her backwards, wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her chin on soft chestnut tresses.

Shizuru had been taken aback a little by the act of tenderness her girlfriend was displaying, but let herself be drowned in the comforting scent. Despite being exhausted, she felt it her duty to press Natsuki about what had transpired at the faculty building.

"Natsuki," she received a hum for a response. "I heard from Chie-han what an uncharacteristic act you committed. Natsuki is such a gentle person. That wasn't a nice thing to do, I am sure Natsuki is aware of that, yes?"

"There wasn't a nice thing that would work," the gang leader sighed. She knew she had let her anger get the best of her, however she couldn't have let anyone live after what they had done. They had trespassed on her domain, they had violated something she treasured – they had tried to hurt her most precious person.

Natsuki had realized that in that game she hadn't been the declarer. That role had been taken by the Golden Era and the dummy* had been Kisame. The low-ranking gang's cards were simply played by the unknown new enemy. This faceless foe threatened her area and as a full-fledged leader she had acted to protect.

'That would teach the bastards,' she had thought, but knew she was wrong. Somehow she was well aware that the Golden Era was way more powerful than any enemy T.N.T. had faced before.

"Natsuki, we both know that you could have thought up a better less… less violent solution," Shizuru murmured, her eyelids dropping over weary ruby orbs. She felt warm lips press against the top of her head and smiled, forgetting for a moment everything around her, except for her Natsuki.

"Yes… I'm sorry, Shizuru," the younger of them buried her face in silky hair, inhaling deeply the sweetness of a lilac aroma.

'Her favorite perfume,' she mused. Nothing could stain her beloved, not even murder or any of the other sins, for that matter. She was just perfect like that.

"Ara, Natsuki doesn't… need to apologize… for… anything," Shizuru felt that she was falling asleep against her girl, but couldn't keep herself awake any longer.

She wasn't that scared now, for she knew that when she was with the secret gang leader she was safe. Even if they were riding the blue Ducati at an unreasonable speed down a dangerous and tricky road positioned on the cliffs, below which the waves angrily clashed.

'Those times were truly amazing,' Shizuru calmly thought before drifting away in her beloved's arms, surrendering to the emotional and physical exhaustion.

Natsuki was quietly gazing at the ceiling, content for the moment with her comfortable positioning on the bed. For her utmost displeasure, though, she had to get up and go check out what was going up with the, as she assumed, pretence-investigation. She had to also look through the disk's contents later that night. It was the evening, but it was still early for the leader to rest her sore body and troubled mind.

With extreme cautiousness she positioned Shizuru comfortably on her mattress, tucked her with a spare blanket and stroked a stray lock from the sleeping girl's forehead. She turned her back on her and shuffled quietly in her wardrobe for a clean school uniform, in which she changed, grunting softly when making a more challenging for her condition movement. In a few days, she'd be okay, she convinced herself.

Throwing a look back at Shizuru's serene face, she was now guilt-free for leaving the student council president by herself. Natsuki knew her dearest would rest undisturbed by dark memories and nightmares at least during her stay here. Not that she was unwilling to spend every second with her, but they had to be careful. They had promised.

"You won't have to do anything like that again, Shizuru. I will cleanse this world from scum like that for your sake," she let herself smile genuinely and lovingly at the sleeping form, which was rising and falling evenly, indicating a peaceful sleep. She left the room.

* * *

She didn't know where she had run off to in her anger frenzy, but found herself standing in front of the school's open swimming pool. No-one was around probably because of the accident earlier.

The accident.

She gripped full fists of her own flame-red locks and gritted her teeth at an attempt not to let out a rage-filled scream. Crouching next to the unmoving water, she peeked over the edge and saw two confused lime eyes looking right back at her. Swallowing, she stretched her hand towards the calm surface and touched it with trembling fingers. Was this pale, hallow-cheeked and apprehensive face hers? How had she changed so much in so little time? It had all happened too quickly. She wished the world would just stop and let her catch up before continuing its wild and ruthless race against all of the people trying to beat it in its own game of unexpectedness.

Nao chuckled to herself; she knew some of those people. This city was too small for individuals with such huge ambitions and desires like Smith, Kuga and the rest of the underground leaders. If a person fought for a righteous cause, did this make the fighter himself the righteous one, the hero? Or did he turn into simply a murderer after the whole ordeal was over? Did Kuga realize what her actions would lead her to? Could Nao be the only one, who realized how wrong this was?

Biting her thumb's nail, she closed her eyes in contemplation. Knowing herself, she wasn't the sort of person to have some idealistic dreams of peace and love, but instead she was more of a pessimist, not expecting much of her future. She knew also that she didn't want to become a hypocritical rebel, who murdered with the excuse 'I kill gangsters, because they ruined my life. They will ruin yours, too'. But what other reason could she have that would motivate her? Ah, so many questions and nobody was willing to just hand her the damned answers!

Suddenly the demand of an explanation to all of her inquiries was replaced by the simple need for her to know why the hell it was so cold and why she couldn't breathe. Opening her mouth to voice her frustration, she felt chlorine water filling her lungs. Everything was smeared, but what she was able to make out was another person underneath the water together with her. Okay, it was time to re-supply with oxygen. Now!

Two heads popped above the surface, one belonging to the gasping frantically for air Nao, the other – to a girl with short black hair, a damp small braid, its end, touching the water, floating above her petite shoulder. Still unable to regain her senses, she couldn't register when she was pulled out of the pool and had rolled onto her knees, coughing out water.

A strong slap across her back made her think that she was going to say farewell to her insides, which threatened to make their fabulous escape from her gaping mouth, because of the impact. When the coughing subsided, she found she could hear a familiar voice asking her if she was alright.

Mustering up her most convincing and appropriate glare for the situation, the lime eyed girl slowly turned her head towards the inquirer.

'What do you think?' was the silent message conveyed between the crouching, drenched and shivering Nao and the panting, concerned, but warmly smiling Mai, who was holding Mikoto by the collar like a dirty little animal. A wet one, too.

"I'm sorry about Mikoto, Nao-chan," apologized Mai. "We were just so caught up in chasing you, that when she finally spotted you, she rushed towards you and couldn't stop in time."

She laughed light-heartedly while Nao just watched her with an expression that at first displayed bewilderment, next portrayed annoyance and finally it settled on boredom.

"Yeah, well, keep your pet on a leash next time," the first-year scoffed, turning her head away from the duo, and shivered a bit. Even though it was a warm spring evening, it was getting dark and soon the sun would hide behind the trees of the school's forest.

"You're cold, Nao-chan. Should I give you my blazer?" suggested Mai, who had now let the little menace go. Mikoto beamed at Nao and she couldn't help but soften her irritated expression in return. Only a bit. She shook her head, denying the kind offer.

"Then let's go back to the dorms and get you two changed," the second-year extended her hand towards the younger girl, but it was roughly pushed away.

"I don't want your help or pity. Nor do I want to go anywhere near _her_," Nao spat and stood up, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Nao-chan… what's your story?" Mai decided that beating around the bush wouldn't help this time around. This problem needed to be resolved as soon as possible for all of their sakes and getting to know Nao and her past better was the path to success in her opinion.

"Don't tell me you don't already know from gossip queen. Kuga made it clear that she was aware why I hate gangs so much," retorted Nao, too tired to think of an insulting comeback.

"I know a bit about your antics in middle school and the incident with your mother, but I want to hear it from you," confessed the caring young woman. Mikoto was at her side, nodding vigorously at the older girl's words.

"Yup, yup! It's always better to draw conclusions from the real source of information, Natsuki says! I agree, I want to hear Nao's story, as well!" Mikoto smiled encouragingly at her classmate, who frowned when she heard the name of T.N.T.'s leader. Why did her life revolve around that loathsome woman?

"Tch, you won't leave me alone, will you?" she got two different types of confirmation. "Okay, then. I'll tell you. But on one condition!"

"Which would be?" inquired Mai, a tad bit worried, knowing part of what the other red-head could be wanting in return.

"Tell me everything. I don't care if Kuga wishes me to know, or not!"

"I can only tell you what I have experienced in the last year at school. You can make out what you need from the story," she received a distrustful look from Nao. "I promise, I'll tell you everything, but from my perspective, so don't expect much."

"Fine, then. We have a deal," Nao replied, somewhat discontented with the arrangement they had made.

"Let's at least get inside the changing-rooms. It'll be less chilly there," in a silent agreement all three high-schoolers went inside.

The door had been left open when the club members had quickly retreated to the dorms, when Mai had come to warn them of the situation mere hours ago. The girls' small changing room had blue tiles, dark-blue lockers lining the walls and two benches in the middle.

Mai and Nao sat down, their backs facing each other's, while Mikoto sprawled on the bench the oldest girl was sitting on and placed her head in her lap. A quick moment of contemplation passed and then the newest member of the gang began her tale.

"When I was a first year in middle school my home was attacked and wrecked by a gang. The moment I pushed the shattered doors of our small apartment, I found my father and bigger sister dead. I don't remember much from that night, but I guess that a neighbor called the police. The only thing I remember was that later mother was lying in a bed, so many wires attached to her that I couldn't count them.

"Later that week the police caught the suspects, four gang members, but soon let them go because of lack of evidence. I was paid a small portion of money, which I used to fix the apartment, for I didn't have any relatives to go to. Going back to that place was hell, so I spent a lot of the nights on the streets.

"Soon I realized that I couldn't live with only the money I was paid as my mother's disablement pension and started searching for a way to make money. I came to the conclusion that in this shit-hole of a city no-one cared and I won't be hired anywhere. So I started baiting men, who wanted to have nightly fun with a middle-schooler and then, when they didn't expect it, I would trick them in the most suitable in the circumstances way and steal their money.

"Anyways, I got good at what I did and went for gang members. I decided that revenge was in order and I would punish them for what they had done to me. At first, it worked, but then… well, that incident in front of the café happened. Anyways, with the money I had gained from the bastards, I was able to pay for my further education in Fuuka and was supplied with a dorm room for the next school year. A month ago they told me mama had awakened from her coma.

"When I got there, I didn't see my mother. I saw a drooling vegetable. I was informed that she may have woken up, but she didn't have long to live. The damage to her brain was too severe and it was a miracle she had even woken up. She's still in that wretched hospital.

"Satisfied? Now it's your turn, Tokiha."

During the whole narration Mai had stayed silent, staring at her feet and playing nervously with Mikoto's braid. She would flinch at some point of the story, but had said nothing, afraid that she would accidentally break the contract they had made. It had been impressive how the first-year's voice stayed impartial during almost the whole time, but Mai knew better. She had her fair share of hardship, too. When Nao had finished, she was quiet for a little while, before venturing to speak herself.

"It must've been tough," she began, but received a snort in response, so she decided not to dwell on it. Instead she immediately began with her own narration.

"I need to tell you about my past before I came last year in order to properly introduce you to the following events.

"I was raised with my brother Takumi in the Tokiha household. We had loving parents and a wonderful home in the outskirts of Tokyo. My family was perfect, or so I had thought. Then my mother got sick with a heart disease I didn't even know existed. She passed soon after my tenth birthday, leaving my father, Takumi and I. Her last words to me were to take care of my little brother and I took them to heart. My father was desperate, though. He became ill, but was able to support Takumi and I. He found solace in alcohol, however I found out about that only after we received the news that he had been hit by a truck.

"My brother and I were left alone when I was sixteen and he was nearly fourteen. At that time we had discovered that the heart disease that had taken mother away was passed genetically and Takumi suffered from a lighter form. Anyways, he needed to be operated in the near future in order to survive.

"Much like yourself, we were given money from the government, but they were not enough. We learned about the Kazahana scholarship, which is provided by Fuuka School and decided to try to win. If we got into school for free, I could find a job and save up money for Takumi's surgery. As luck had it, we were able to enter. This was the point in time when I met Natsuki…"

* * *

Glossary:

*Declarer and dummy - Within the partnership that wins the auction, declarer is the one who first names the denomination or strain of their winning bid, thus the strain of the contract. During the play, declarer is opposite dummy and calls for card from dummy or "plays the dummy".


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hey~! Don't have much time, so I'll warn you that I didn't check this chapter as well as I wished, so if there are any mistakes, I'm sorry! I thank you people very much for the feedback I received! Me luvs u long time :3 Ah, before I forget! I'll be including other types of games in this fic, so if you have an idea of a game you would like to share, please write to me. I'll be most grateful, since, even though I play a lot of games, I have a limited knowledge on the topic, naturally.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: Mai-HiME? Own? Me? Haha.**

* * *

Fuuka High School. What a place! Tokiha Mai and Tokiha Takumi were standing in the main entrance beaming at their new school's campus. The siblings had arrived in the city just a few hours ago and what they had seen on their way to their future place of education and life had disappointed them. The ride with the taxi had proven to be quite boring – the city was the same as Tokyo, but somewhat more sinister and oppressing. They couldn't really tell what made it like that, though. But the campus was something else! In fact, it was the complete opposite of Fuuka – a bright and welcoming place.

A faculty member had been waiting for them at the gates and had taken their luggage to their assigned rooms. They were treated well because of the scholarships, Mai supposed, while watching the retreating back of the bulky man. He had refused their offer to help and with good reason – their baggage really wasn't that much.

"Wanna bet, Harada?" an angry yell interrupted their blissful moment of fulfillment. It had been nice to behold the result of their long nights spent in studying in order to obtain the Kazahana scholarship. But it was over the instant their attention was drawn to a trio of high school girls, who were also entering the premises of the campus.

"Why, yes, if you put it like that, Kuga-san," spoke a bespectacled dark-haired girl, while tapping the keyboard of her mobile phone. Next to her was an equally beautiful blue-eyed chestnut teenager, who was throwing panicky glances at her phone-engrossed companion. Slightly ahead of them walked the most striking of them all, thought Mai.

The girl had long raven-black hair with a slight touch of deep-blue on the places it was illuminated by the spring sun. She had forest-green eyes, which pierced everything that came into their view with a superfluous ferocity, causing other students to move out from the small group's path. Yes, there _was_ something else about the eyes. It wasn't the shape or the color. There was no evil glint, but they held a clear message: 'You are nothing, you possess no value. You don't deserve to tread on the same ground I have trod upon. You will be allowed to either be my servant or my prey. And the choice is not yours.' It was strange, to say the least. Mai realized that she was staring, however the intensity of the girl's presence was undeniable.

"Oh, so what will you make me do to prove to you that you are wrong, as always?" the stranger's haughty and husky voice pierced through the other sounds, which seemingly had deliberately lessened all because of her. Besides, the siblings were standing mere ten meters away from them.

"Simple: tell me something that I don't know! Naturally, what I mean is information about a student!" the one addressed as Harada ran up to the blunette and blocked her path, her hands on her hips. The other girl took a moment to evaluate the situation and nodded her head, frowning all the while.

"Fine, I'll take you on. Prepare yourself, Harada," she declared when the last of the group had joined them.

"I'm already burning with anticipation, Kuga-san!" replied excitedly Kuga's opponent in the heavy category of gossip acquirement, lifting her two fists between them. She got a smirk in return.

Mai now didn't care that she had been standing there for almost five minutes now and was making Takumi wait with her. She was truly interested in what would follow. She discovered with fluster that the green eyes had started to scan the crowd of students flooding through the gates. Her breath caught in her throat when her own lilac orbs met the emerald ones. She didn't know what made her think that the other teenager would look away, because she didn't. Instead she saw a glint of what seemed like a shade of pleasure.

"We have two new transfer students from Tokyo – one in middle school, the other is in our year. They are siblings; the sister is the elder one and is quite good-looking, while her little brother seems rather… pleasant and agreeable. They apparently got the Kazahana scholarship in order to attend this prestige school, instead of the normal public one. The girl has red hair, more on the orange side, while the boy is not as outstanding with his light brown. They have arrived today and will be attending the ceremony. We'll meet up with them before then most probably, though," during the short analysis the Kuga girl didn't break eye contact with Mai, a calculating expression on her face. She finally looked away to address the perplexed duo in front of her. "Are you content with this, Harada?"

"I… How…" the dark-haired one was only able to stare defeated at her opponent. "How did you find out, since the great me could only get their names?" she asked crestfallen.

"Easily. They are standing right there," Kuga pointed at Mai's direction and the she flinched, casting a glance at her little brother, who smiled reassuringly back at her. Harada and her blue-eyed companion spun around and spotted the two nervous transfer students. They turned again towards Kuga and the one, who hadn't spoken up until now, whined somewhat accusingly.

"But that was unfair, Kuga-san!"

"How so? You didn't specify any restrictions regarding the intelligence gathering. Now stop pestering me! Bye, hope I don't see you later. Or at all," she waved dismissively her hand and continued on her stride towards the place, where the opening ceremony was going to be held this year. Not wasting any more time, the bespectacled girl was in front of the siblings in a matter of seconds, shaking their hands with a big grin on her face.

"Why hello there, you two must be Tokiha Takumi and Tokiha Mai! My name is Harada Chie and my lovely girl is called Senou Aoi. We'll be in the same class with you this year, Tokiha Mai-san!" Chie happily explained to them in a rush. They could muster only a bashful, but nevertheless polite reply.

"Aw, they are so cute!" exclaimed Aoi, who had her arms clasped in front of her in a display of pleasure. "We'll see you later today, I guess! You'd better hurry up, the opening ceremony will start soon."

"Ah, wait a minute!" exclaimed Mai, before she could stop herself. "Who was that girl? I understand that she was able to tell that we were new, but how was she able to guess we were here by the scholarship and from Tokyo, none the less?"

It had truly amazed her, when she had heard that. How was a person able to distinguish such a thing from first sight?

"Oh, that wasn't that hard for Kuga-san. She probably noticed the key chain dangling from your pocket," Mai tucked it quickly back inside, blinking in puzzlement. The key chain itself had attached onto it a special key for lockers, used only on the Tokyo train stations. But the girl had been ten meters away from her, for crying out loud!

"Anyone could tell that you are here by the scholarship," Chie explained, but when she saw the uneasy expressions of her listeners, she further elaborated. "Don't worry, it's not like you look badly or poor! It's just that you don't give off the air of us, snobby rich kids. You guys look kinda innocent and good-natured. And far too primed and proper in your uniforms; you've buttoned them to the top. You don't need to do that, no-one will tell you anything if you allow yourselves to breathe."

"You don't look snobby one bit, Harada-san," chimed in Takumi, who had been silent up until that moment.

"Thank you, Takumi-kun, but you should be weary with the students here. They can be quite the troublesome bunch. Not that there are not cool people like us," she winked at him and they bid their good-byes.

"This is going to be challenging, won't it, sister?" the boy smiled at Mai, who nodded in agreement and they walked off to the opening ceremony, where they were to be told other particularities accompanying their stay at Fuuka School.

* * *

Later that week the Tokihas were settled and had even made new acquaintances. Takumi was roomed with the most famous boy in middle school Okuzaki Akira and they were getting along well, according to Mai's little brother. Akira didn't seem pleased with the arrangement last time Mai had seen them together on their way to class, but he had no say in the matter.

Mai herself was roomed with a middle school student, called Minagi Mikoto. The girl was extremely energetic and hungry all the time. The young cat-like girl came from a family of kendo-practitioners and people said that she was as gifted with the sword as was her brilliant half-brother Kanzaki Reito. Even though she was immature ninety percent of the time, she had her lucid moments of seriousness and philosophical knowledge passed down in her family. The small menace with shortly-cut black hair was delighted, to say the least, when she had discovered Mai's exceptional cooking skills. All in all, they got along well for knowing each other for just a week. Mikoto was attached to her side almost all of the time, excluding the school classes and the training hours, or when she was visiting her elder brother.

Everything went smoothly except for one small, but important detail: Mai hadn't found a part-time job and even though they spent money as little as possible, they had found themselves in a predicament in the finances' department. Despite offering multiple times to also search for a job, the responsible sister had explicitly forbid Takumi to do any kind of labor. She had told him she would handle it, leaving him feeling guilty and helpless, but at least he was out of harm's way.

Mai had also found out about the most potent threat in the city – the gangs. Chie had informed her about them, when she had first told her she was trying out for a job at a gas-station in one of the outlying districts. After hearing about the shady agenda of the authorities, she had ruled out that option and most of the others.

But after two weeks of futile attempts to find a part-time in the downtown of Fuuka, she was forced to try out working at a department store in the neighborhood with one of the highest rates of drug dealing and prostitution. It was unsettling, to put it mildly. Of course, she told no-one where she went, since she didn't want to worry her new friends like Aoi, Chie and Mikoto. That had proven to be a mistake.

In the hours after school, usually after two o'clock, she went to the store and worked until eight and a half. She had plenty of time to go back to the dorms with the bus. As she stood on the bus stop one of the nights, she noticed that a group of men were heading her way. Mai tried to make herself unnoticeable, but that had always been hard with her red hair and outstanding figure.

Being the center of attention wasn't her thing, she had decided a long time ago when her dress had been ripped open by one of her classmates during a concert in elementary school. So being the person, who had caught the attention of a whole band of, what in her assumption were, gang members, was a state ranked between 'BAD' and 'BALEFUL' in her book.

"Oh, what do we have here?" drew out one of them, when they had finally reached her spot. Lilac eyes shut closed and their owner hoped that when she opened them, the men would have disappeared. She was immensely disappointed when, after she checked, they hadn't.

"I don't have any money or precious possessions on me now!" she bravely stood up for herself, a small wave of courage supporting her attempt. It quickly drew back as she saw them snicker and one of them wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Oh, we don't need any money, girlie. We have plenty, since we're from the Hazard. Our boss is unbeatable in gamble, you know," he boasted, his alcoholic breath washing over Mai's face and she cringed at the stench. She guessed he was talking about a gang, or rather, the gang he was part of.

"No, missy, what we want tonight is something else," they all laughed, circling her in a predatory manner. She tried to shrug off his arm, however the grip only tightened.

"Let me go!" Mai yelled out, stomping hard on the man's foot, who howled in pain. The ferocious venture on the girl's part had only proved to anger them and her arms were soon roughly grasped and shoved behind her back by other two gang members.

"Help!" she shouted, while struggling to break free of the clutching arms. This only earned her a hard hit upon the head, which made her dizzy. Before she lost consciousness, she desperately thought that she had failed her most precious and important person.

'Takumi…'

* * *

"Will you fold?"

"What makes you think I'll fold?"

"Hah. Well, this being your third loss, for one."

"Humpf, I don't quit. Shuffle again!"

"Fine. Daisuke, do your thing."

In the darkness of her mind, she wondered where those voices were coming from. Her head hurt and throbbed painfully every time she tried to lift her heavy eyelids in order to see what was going on and where she was. The scents she detected told her that she most likely was inside a bar, hence the smell of alcoholic beverages and tobacco. The two voices from earlier were now muffled by excited comments and men's resounding assumptions on who the winner would be this time.

'What are they…?' Mai attempted once again to open her lilac eyes and this time she succeeded. What she saw, though, was slightly more unsettling than what she had built a mental image of, based on the different clues she had gathered with her hearing.

Firstly, she was lying on the floor, her hands tied behind her back. The next thing she noticed was that her positioning was beside a table, at somebody's feet. Looking up, she was surprised to find out that the owner of the limbs was a young woman, wearing the Fuuka High School uniform.

What came as a shock to her was that she knew that person; that was the Kuga girl she had met on her first day at school. She would have given a verbal sign of her bafflement, but even turning her head hurt as if it were split open for the world to behold its contents. Instead she decided to make out more of the current situation, as no-one seemed to have noticed her awakening, everybody too busy with what was occurring on that table she was lying next to.

Kuga was sitting, her form tense, intently watching whoever was on the opposite side of the table. Around it were gathered four men, two of which Mai recognized as her attackers. All of them were in a small dimly lit room with green walls, a wooden floor and no windows, through which the smoke of the cigarettes could go out through. Shifting slightly with great effort, she could only see the feet of the man sitting across from them. Taking heed of the movement next to her, the only other girl in the room slowly turned her green orbs towards her laying schoolmate.

"Oh, you're awake," she noted, lifting a slender dark brow.

"Is she now?" Mai heard a man ask. "That's good. That way she'll be more aware why she will be mine in a few rounds."

All of the men laughed, while Kuga scoffed, tearing her gaze away from Mai's confused one. When the latter tried to stand up, she felt she was being lifted up and put on her own two wobbly feet. Now she could finally see the one, who had spoken just now.

Clearing her sore throat, Mai opened her mouth and inquired in a shaky voice, "What are you talking about?"

That had come out strangely coherent and calm, in her humble opinion, as she had expected to be tongue-tied and stutter some nonsense. The chestnut haired tuxedo clad man smiled at her and tilt his head in one direction.

"Do you know where you are, sweetie?" he inquired and received a negative response. "You are in one of Hazard's gaming rooms. I am the gang leader and my nick-name is Tenun. I have my luck granted by the heavens," Tenun explained the play of words behind his alias.

Seeing that nobody was going to say anything, he slowly turned his piercing blue eyes towards her schoolmate, who in turn watched him with a slight frown.

"You, my red-headed girl, were brought here by my men, who wanted to have their way with you," he didn't notice Mai shiver and stagger towards the other high-schooler.

"However, since I was busy playing a rather challenging game with Miss Unidentified here, I decided on a whim to keep you as my play-thing, instead of letting such a beauty go to waste with my subordinates."

Said subordinates looked unnerved by their boss's remark, but remained silent.

"Alas, when my opponent saw you, she made the choice to make you a gamble chip. Quite the greedy one, this little girl."

Mai didn't know how to react to what she had heard just now. Should she be grateful that she was still untouched, or should she be panicked that her future was decided on a gamble? Why was she a gamble chip in the first place?

"What's going to happen to me?" she stopped her choice of questions upon this one, seeing that everything else would send her on an emotional rampage.

"Oh, that would be decided in the next two games," replied Tenun nonchalantly, while waving his ring-covered hand at one of the henchmen. The other man bowed and picked up a small box, opened it and held out a deck of cards.

"You see, in the last three games my opponent has lost 200,000 yen and now the amount of money on her side has considerably subsided," only the gang leader's voice was floating in the room, alongside the tobacco smoke. "Now we are playing on who would own you from now on."

"I am not…" began Mai, but was interrupted by a husky voice that cut even her intention to express her agitation of being a part of a game of cards.

"It's my turn to shuffle the cards this time. As we saw, the deck is brand new and I was checked before I entered for any extra cards. I already did it once, too," Kuga held out her hand towards the man holding the deck. Tenun only looked amused and let her take it and shuffle it.

"Can you cut and riffle them card by card like Daisuke can? Last time you missed a couple of cards and almost sent them flying," he asked her skeptically.

"Of course," she said, while splitting the deck in two perfectly even parts and riffled them, her eyes closed, as if in concentration. "I'll riffle them four times and cut them once."

Tenun nodded, while he, alongside the others, was watching narrowly the shuffling deck. Mai sighed dramatically, not knowing what else to do when things were unfolding with such a speed in front of her.

"At least will you tell me in what game I'll be 'won'?" she directed her question at the Kuga girl, seeing her as her most not-enemy at the moment.

"Texas hold 'em," she said without making an effort to even glance at her direction.

"Splendid," Mai tried to move her arms, but found them really tightly bound together with a rough rope.

'Like in an old western movie,' she sadly mused, expecting somebody to burst the door open and shout 'Sheriff! Surrender now, Maverick!'

After cutting the deck, Kuga gave it to Daisuke to deal. She and Tenun were each given two cards, which were briefly surveyed before being put again face-down on the table. Mai noticed that her schoolmate had indeed less money on her end in comparison to her opposing player's.

"I'm in," Tenun pushed the wager – a wad of 50,000 yen forward, and leaned back in his chair, the smile never leaving his face. The lilac-eyed high-schooler couldn't tell what hand he had from his facial expression. But then again, that was the point in poker, wasn't it?

Kuga silently pushed her own money forward, showing that she also was going to play. Noting that, Daisuke threw on the board the first three cards – a four, a Jack and another four.

"I'll continue with today's main attraction – I raise with half of my red-headed girl. Half of her will amount almost all of your remaining money, my opponent. Let's say 300,000 yen," the gambler chuckled when he saw Mai's disapproving glare, when she was announced as 'his'. He was going to like having this girl.

"What am I, a piece of meat? How come am I being split in half?" the disgruntled girl argued with Tenun, who was observing her with utmost amusement.

"But you were brought here as my possession, I am in my right to treat you as such," he reasoned with her.

"This is in no way right!" Mai shouted back, leaning forward over the table, regretting that she wasn't able to use her hands to teach this lecher a thing or two.

"I'll pay," ignoring the commotion Kuga stated and shoved a huge sum in the middle of the table, leaving her with a mere 100,000. Her usually impartial expression didn't betray any kind of emotion, as she also leaned back and observed the table. Another card was dealt. It was a ten.

"Check," Tenun put his folded hands on the surface of the table, his numerous rings reflecting the dim light.

"Check," it seemed to Mai that her schoolmate didn't want to risk more than she was already risking.

'Good,' she thought with an inward sigh of relief. Maybe they still had a chance to get out of here alive and untouched. But was this possible, considering that they were dealing with a gang? Those people were ruthless and they had no honor. A worried glance was thrown at Kuga's direction, who predictably let it slide past her. Instead she looked expectantly at Daisuke, who noticing this, dealt the last fifth card. Now on the board were laying three fours, a Jack and a ten.

"Any last raisings, Miss Unidentified?" inquired Hazard's leader with a smile.

"I don't think so, Tenun," she replied calmly.

"Marvelous," he turned his cards. All of the color drained from Mai's face and she felt her stomach clench.

"Four fours, with a five, my opponent," Tenun declared. "A most unusual combination, don't you think, since there are only four cards of the same nomenclature in the same deck."

"Indeed," the girl replied, turning her cards. "But I'm afraid that my full house of Jacks, full of three fours beats your hand."

The man visibly tensed and narrowed his blue eyes at Kuga in a scrutinizing way. An almost visible smile was evident on her features, marking her small victory over him. The two players were evaluating each other for another silence-filled minute, until Tenun sighed and, slightly aggravated, snatched a sealed box himself and opened it, taking out a brand new deck. They were playing each game with a new pack of cards, in case the opponent had somehow managed to mark the old ones, Mai reasoned. She was now more confident that they would be walking out of that room and was a bit calmer.

"Good going," she whispered only to be left out in the cold.

"Daisuke, riffle the cards four times, then cut them, riffle them again and make another cut," ordered the man, glaring at the other player the whole time. "We'll see if you'll be able to count cards this time, Miss Unidentified."

'Count?' the Mai snapped her head towards the other girl, her lilac orbs filled with bewilderment.

The man wasn't answered by more than a disregarding 'humpf', after which the dealer did as he was told. Mai noticed that her schoolmate had her emeralds closed, while comfortably sitting slouched in her chair. Had she counted the cards the last time? Was this possible to follow with four shuffles? If it was, it had turned impossible with the two cuts and a fifth riffle, now. The little shed of hope she had, disappeared when those questions entered her mind.

Kuga started the bidding with the wager of 50,000 yen, followed suit by Tenun, who did the same. The last game had started and immediately the tension in the room had risen from the state, in which it could be cut with a knife, to the magnitude of not being able to be scratched even with a battle axe.

Forest-green gazed into sky-blue, searching for a sign of weakness or hesitation. Mai didn't know if the other girl had seen something flicker over Tenun's square-jawed face, but Kuga smirked and licked her lips.

"All in," she said without even looking at her cards, or waiting for the rest of the cards to be dealt. The man visibly resisted the urge to jump from his seat and look at the young woman's hand, which made her so confident.

"Don't get cocky, kid," he drew out, any trace of amusement gone from his expression. "How can you say 'all in', when the board doesn't have a single card on it? Are you mad?"

"No, Tenun. I'm just confident I'll win," replied somewhat haughtily Kuga and glanced for the first time at Mai, who was trying to find a reason, any reason, for why her schoolmate had committed such an outrageous crime against her. As if reading the distress in the lilac orbs, the resident rebel listed her brows and stated, "You think I'll lose the game."

"Do you blame me?" managed to reply weakly Mai, clenching her fists behind her back and bending her head forward, her bangs falling over her eyes. For her the only occupants of the room were Kuga, Tenun and herself. The henchmen had disappeared like the minor characters in a mediocre play of mock tragedy. Her very own mock tragedy. It didn't matter that the other girl would probably lose a small fortune, numbering perhaps the yearly earnings of a salary-man. In that moment Mai felt she needed all her pity for herself.

"Yes," answered her imperturbably the raven-haired beauty. Then Mai could sense something in her snap, but before she could launch at the offender of her sanity in a vicious attempt to mangle her, she was stopped by the sound of Hazard's leader's now more even voice.

"Very well. I've never played like this, but since you put me in such a position, it would look cowardly if I back off. All in!" he slammed his palm on the table, shaking the piece of furniture. "Don't waste our time, Daisuke! Deal the rest of the cards!"

Without dilly-dallying the dealer did as told and now they were looking at the deciding five cards on the board.

"Before we reveal our cards, tell me something," while saying this Tenun ordered his men to leave them with a gesture. "What did you do the last game that made that Jack come to you, instead of a ten?"

Mai's head snapped back up. Now, indeed they were alone, only the three of them. The corners of Kuga's lips lifted upwards and she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.

"You sent your men out so that they wouldn't find out that your so called 'Heavenly granted luck' is just the ability to count cards? A smart move, Tenun," her observation was met with a hostile narrowing of the eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I would've done the same thing, if I were in your shoes. So you want to know what I did in the fourth game?"

"I believe I didn't stutter, while telling you to do so," the gang leader was getting less aggravated, but it was still evident that he was unsettled.

"Okay, since you were so generous as to dance to my tune, I'll tell you," the girl mocked Tenun, who suppressed a growl. "Counting cards is simple, even when they are being shuffled, as you can agree with me, especially if you start with a new deck. It's most easy when it's a 'perfect shuffle', don't you think so? That's why you always have that Daisuke dude riffle and cut. I admit, he is good with that, he could be a croupier at the Fuuka Grand Casino. Anyways, back to the game.

"When I was riffling the cards for the fourth time, I let two cards fall at one point, instead of only one. With the cut, I knew what cards would come and that I would get two Jacks and you – a four with three fours on the board. That got you confident and you made brave bids, which were the cue for me to act. It was strange that you didn't notice, but I guess such things happen even to the best. Can you guess what the outcome of this last game will be, Tenun?"

The one addressed stroke his smoothly shaven face and grinned slyly, chuckling darkly. He broke into a full-out laugh and clasped his hands in front of him, clenching them tightly.

"Unbelievable! I was beaten in my own game by a teenage girl!" he quietly exclaimed more to himself, than to anyone else. "So, looking at the cards on the board, will you tell me what my cards are?"

Laughing emeralds gazed at the board, where were lined up a three, a six, a nine, a Queen and another three.

"Your hand would've won if it weren't for the second cut you ordered in your anger, Tenun," explained coyly the girl. "You've got but one pair with a King. Pity, really."

Kuga turned her cards, revealing a three and a nine. The gang leader scrunched his brows and let out a heavy sigh, indicating his defeat.

"Take the money and the girl and get out, kid," he drew out. "Don't gamble with your life any longer."

Kuga stood tall, grabbed a backpack that had been under her chair and pushed all of the wads of yen inside, zipping it closed when finished. After that she motioned for the speechless Mai to turn around to untie her hands. She did what she was told without uttering a word. She couldn't believe they were just going to let them go. Just as when they were about to exit, Tenun called out after them.

"Hey, girlies!" Kuga glanced back, while Mai stared ahead, listening. "Don't show yourselves in this district again, or I'll kill you myself."

"Sure thing, Tenun," replied the aloof teenager and slammed the door shut behind her and her schoolmate, passing the four henchmen, who could only look after them in wonder.

"Why'd she come here, anyways?" one of them asked and others shook their shoulders, deciding that that girl had ran on her life-time supply of luck, if she had managed to walk away from their boss intact, with a profit even. But their boss was a lucky honest fraud, after all.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hey! How's it going? Just here to clear some things up. Since this is a flash-back arc, told through Mai's PoV, it will mostly revolve around her and her intake of the affairs around her new acquaintance and how they formed T.N.T. I'm trying to portrait Natsuki's life and actions through the eyes of other people and her (future) friends before I step to a steady Natsuki PoV narration. You've probably noticed the main four PoVs in this story - Natsuki's, Nao's, Shizuru's and Mai's. I assure you, the story does revolve around our favorite blunette, with Nao as the follow-up, though she was more like a character, who is there to introduce the other ones. Not that I plan to toss her away, no sir. All of the characters have their roles planned out and I'll try not to neglect them. **_

_**To answer SpringWaltz101's review: Yes, the story IS ShizNat, but I didn't know that this necessarily make them the mains. I'm sorry if I've confused anybody with my choice of two mains. I do not plan to neglect Shizuru and Natsuki's relationship, it's just not the only thing I'll put inside here. I also like Nao and I've listed her as the other main, because the story is also about her entering the gang and her adapting to the others. It's important to write her intake on the situations, since she is currently looking **__**almost**__** in an unbiased way things unfold. Of course, as time goes by, she does develop her own way of thinking, connected in a way to that of the others, but this is yet to come as a major event. **_

_**I present to you a chapter with a more chamber ensemble! Enjoy! ^^**_

**Disclaimer: MAI-HiME is not mine... **

* * *

"It's gotten too late to return to the dorms now," Kuga scoffed. "I guess I'll take you to my place."

She and Mai were walking hurriedly down an empty street, their senses on high alert in case they were followed by any suspicious characters.

"Who are you anyways?" Mai asked her savior. She was indeed impressed by the other girl's abilities and found herself wanting to know more about her.

"Kuga Natsuki," came the short introduction and nothing followed after it. They took a turn inside a narrow alley and proceeded further into the damp and dark.

"What I meant is why can you do all of this? The first day of school you noticed details I wasn't even aware of and now this ridiculous card game," she paused a bit, before continuing. "What were you doing there in the first place?"

"First question: I just can, that's how I live. Second question: I ran out of money."

"Do you realize how ridiculous this sounds?"

"I do."

"What if the school staff finds out?"

"Find out what?"

"That you gambled for money with the Hazard, in this hood, none the less."

"I did no such thing."

"What do you mean, Kuga-san?" the curious transfer student received no answer; they had come to a stop and Mai looked over the other girl's shoulder.

"You're not going to steal it, are you?" she warily asked, pointing at a midnight-blue motorbike. Natsuki angrily turned around and glared at her.

"Of course not! This Ducati's mine! If you want to walk all the way to downtown, I won't offer you a ride," she pulled out a chain with keys from her uniform's pocket and unlocked the bike's compartment, pulling out two helmets and tossing one of them at Mai. "Put this on."

She complied silently, deciding that further questions were unnecessary if she wanted to go back home safely. But she was not going home, was she?

"Where do you live, Kuga-san?" she inquired her schoolmate, who had already mounted the bike with her helmet on and was only waiting for her.

"Downtown. Get on already! Gosh, woman, do you need to talk all the time?" the biker asked her in an agitated manner.

Mai climbed behind Kuga and wrapped her arms around the other's waist. Tightly.

"Do you want me to die of asphyxiation?" a muffled and choked question came from the driver of the motorbike. Releasing her clutch, she blushed a bit at her display of cowardice, but regretted her action soon after, when the Ducati's engine roared and they sped off into the dead streets of Fuuka's districts.

* * *

The bike stopped, Mai released the driver and Natsuki could breathe once again. They had parked in the underground parking of a big apartment building in the more rich part of the city. Mai was surprised that there was a student, who could afford to reside in such a place, since she had found out by Chie that 'Kuga-san' lived on her own, which meant that she had no parents to take care of her, at least not here in Fuuka.

Both of them were silently traveling up by the elevator to the seventh floor of the twelve storey building. Mai was nervously staring down at her feet, while Natsuki played with her keys absentmindedly, spinning them around her index finger and tossing them once or twice every once in a while.

Mai was somewhat embarrassed to go to a near-stranger's apartment in the middle of the night, while her brother and Mikoto were probably worried for her. She decided to call them as soon as she could, regretting that she had lost her cell phone in all the commotion from a few hours ago.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when the elevator announced their arrival and the doors slid open, revealing a spacious hall. The apartments' entrances were at least five before the corridor took a turn, but she didn't have the chance to explore the other part of the hall, since they headed for the closest door and Natsuki unlocked it, letting them inside.

Bowing at the entrance, Mai took off her shoes before taking a look around. If she had seen the state of the flat first, she wouldn't have bothered to be considerate not to bring any dirt inside.

Her nose cringed when her lilac orbs held the sight of the other girl's abode. The huge residence looked like a war-zone, or more like the front-lines of one. She was surprised that there weren't dead bodies on the floor, but reasoned those were absent, because there wouldn't be any place for them, or were already hidden by clothes, pizza boxes, magazines, books, papers with what looked blueprints and playing cards. Only the space around the big plasma television and desktop computer, which was next to it, was somewhat free of random objects lying in its premises.

"Don't you clean up at all?" Mai had given up on trying being polite around this girl. It was pointless, as all she received in return were rude replies.

"I don't have the time. Maybe I should hire somebody," mused Natsuki, while shuffling through the papers on the floor, picking them up and trying to stuff them away in the drawers of the desk, where her computer was. She gave it a rest, since it seemed that she wouldn't succeed and decided on heading for the bedroom, instead. "But then again, I'd have to decapitate them if they decided to end their contract."

"Haha, don't joke around with such matters, Kuga-san," Mai laughed nervously, while trying not to notice the various kinds of lingerie, scattered across the floor of the gloomy bedroom. After throwing the bag with money on the unmade bed, the other girl leaned on the doorframe of said room, surveying her busty schoolmate from head to toe.

"Call me just Natsuki. After all, I'm letting you have the couch for tonight, no need for formalities. Have a pleasant sleep," before she could object, the door was slammed shut and after a few shuffling noises, all fell quiet. Especially silent was Mai, who stood dumb-struck in the midst of the battlefield, which was under the alias of Kuga Natsuki's living room. Not wanting to challenge her ill fate once again, the girl sighed and went for what she assumed was the couch. Surely that was supposed to be an undercover couch, right?

The refrigerator was empty, except for a bottle of mayonnaise and a bottle of something Mai wasn't sure she wanted to know what exactly. The only food in the house turned out to be a card box of instant ramen and one with potato chips. Even though she prided herself with exceptional cooking skills, she doubted she could do much with this, but she had to try.

Natsuki's kitchen looked like it was there just for the sake of filling up the room, since it would be indeed outrageous for such a big of an apartment to have no cooking space. The utensils had dust all over them, the stove was brand new, only the microwave had stains of sauce inside-out.

Deciding on preparing the instant ramen her way, the gifted cooker started making the Wednesday breakfast. While waiting for the water to heat, she cleaned the kitchen a bit, making it bearable for inhabitance and eliminating the fear that when you sit, some legendary creature would jump you from behind.

Last night before going to bed, she had quickly phoned Takumi and Mikoto, assuring them of her safety. They both had been worried about her and had immediately demanded to know what had kept her unable to contact them earlier, but she evaded having to explain her miss-adventures, not completely ready with her cover-up story. For the time being they had been content with her rushed answer and using the fact that it indeed it was really late, she had hung up.

With her back turned on the door, she hadn't noticed Natsuki entering the room and taking a seat at the now presentable table. The other girl watched Mai busy herself with the rather excessively nourishing morning meal and decided to finally speak up, causing her to jump.

"You didn't have to go through the trouble to tidy up the living room and cook breakfast, you know," Natsuki calmly stated, crossing her legs and tilting her head sideways. She was dressed with a black leather biker's suit, slightly unzipped at the front, since it was somewhat stuffy in the premises, even though it was a fairly large dwelling.

"Don't scare people like that!" scolded her Mai, putting her hands on her apron-clad waist in a cross manner. "And how do you expect me not to clean up? Do you know what I found this morning?"

"Do _you_?" Natsuki obviously had come to the revelation that a more interesting or disturbing question was the best answer in certain circumstances.

Mai froze and after a few emotions passed over her face, she finally decided that she really didn't want to possess the true knowledge, for all the good that it would do her. After turning around to the breakfast, she poured the two portions of ramen into two bowls and handed rudely one to Natsuki, who seemed to observe it cautiously.

"Don't worry, I didn't poison it," she propped in the opposite seat, pointedly took a piece of vegetable and put it in her mouth and started chewing. Her schoolmate did the same and her green orbs immediately lit with delight, which caused Mai to swell on the inside with pleasure.

"This is good," Natsuki said between bites. "Did you do this with the instant ramen I had stocked up?"

"Yes," Mai continued to eat her share. She hadn't realized how hungry she was, until she had started preparing the food. This caused her usual politeness and love for chit-chatting to be pushed on the back for now, while she satisfied her newly found appetite.

"So living alone with your brother has caused you to become quite the housekeeper, huh?" inquired the sly green-eyed teenager. Mai just knew that this question was going to lead to something else, since she had come to the conclusion that the other girl wasn't much of a conversationalist. She nodded, suspicious of the hidden motive of the inquiry.

"And I suppose you won't be going back to your job at that department store. After what happened last night and all," she continued.

"I think that a murderer threat is enough of a reason for me to quit," replied Mai, surprised at the quick change of topic. She lifted her bowl to drink up the remains of the ramen, but Natsuki's next words caused her to choke and after she had calmed down a bit, she asked for her schoolmate to repeat herself, which she did with a slight bit of annoyance.

"I said that you're hired and you can start from tomorrow."

"And what exactly am I hired to do?" rasped Mai, while pouring herself a glass of water and drowning it afterwards down her sour throat.

"Be my maid, of sorts, of course," said Natsuki, as if it was something plain and obvious. She decided to elaborate, seeing the incredulous expression Mai was giving her. "Since I don't have the time to take care of my apartment, I'm going to hire you to do it. I will pay you weekly the equal amount of money that department store offered you. Besides, you owe me."

"No amount of money can compensate for what I saw in the bathroom earlier today," stated Mai after resuming her seat and leaning forward. The other one did the same.

"You've piqued my interest," smirked the one sitting across from her. "What was it?"

"A mirror," she whispered. "I have terrible morning hair."

A shadow of a smile passed across the ice beauty's face, who was at least in good spirits today, it seemed.

"You are aware that it'll be most regretful if I find out that you were doing something here without my permission," Natsuki stood up and motioned for the other girl to follow. "I'll drop you at school, come on."

* * *

During the following month Mai went to Natsuki's apartment every day after school and cleaned up the mess the other girl had been able to create overnight. She was forbidden to enter only one room and that was the bedroom. Not knowing why, and not really wanting to find out, she didn't question the prohibition and continued with her duties.

In that period of time she had discovered a lot about the enigmatic Kuga Natsuki, however refused to feed the information to Chie out of pure sense of camaraderie. She had grown accustomed to not seeing her at school, but instead finding her in her apartment working on something on her computer, or locked in her bedroom, only the rustling of paper heard. So when she had unlocked the door and heard a joyous laugh, she was ready to spin on her heels and get the hell out of there, screaming for help. Quietly dropping the bags with groceries on the floor, she crouching headed for the source of the uncharacteristic in this place voice.

"Ara, Natsuki should give me a more legitimate reason to let her go!"

Another giggle followed, followed by a frustrated inaudible reply. The newly appointed maid gripped an umbrella and held it like a two-handed saber.

"No, I don't think I want to," rang again the melodious female voice, amusement apparent in it.

Peering around the corner of the corridor, leading to the living room, Mai was finally able to see who was causing the commotion. She almost suffocated from the effort not to breathe or make any excessive noises and disrupt the image she was beholding. Was that president Fujino attached to _that person's_ back? And more importantly, why was Natsuki's left arm in a sling?

"What are…?" she just couldn't get anything more out, awestruck at the sight of the most popular person in the school and the notorious Ice Princess in a display of such affection in the middle of the room. The renowned president held the first-year around the waist and had rested her chin on the right shoulder of her victim.

Sharp emerald eyes darted to lilac ones in alarm, their owner, clutched in a deadly grip, struggling to free herself. Unfortunately that forced her to jerk a bit violently, that leading to a growl in pain, caused by her hitting her injured arm incidentally against the back of the couch.

President Fujino quickly let the shorter girl go, concern and guilt etched onto her beautiful features; it seemed she still had not noticed the third person in the abode. Before she could say anything, Natsuki regained her composure by drawing a sharp breath and greeting the newcomer with a "Hey, Mai."

"H-hi," staggered back Mai, still holding up protectively the umbrella, its tip pointed at the other two teenagers.

"Well, if it isn't that Tokiha Mai-han!" exclaimed the eldest, who now had in place her usual smile; warm, welcoming and soothing.

'That was a fast recovery,' thought Mai, observing the quick change that president Fujino had went through in only the matter of seconds. From worried and anxious, she had turned into the usual person everybody saw at school. The transfer student could've pondered over that fact a bit more, but was interrupted by Natsuki, who stepped towards her and pushed the tip of the umbrella down. Ah, she hadn't even realized that it wasn't needed anymore!

"Could you stop pointing this at my face? I don't need to fuss over a lost eye," she was scolded and she complied, blushing a bit at her own somewhat foolish actions.

"Ignoring what I saw, what happened to you, Natsuki?" inquired the newly appointed maid, still a tad bit weary of the other two girls.

"You didn't see anything! Nothing happened, okay?" snarled at her Natsuki, but it had almost no effect, as Mai put her hands on her hips irately and pushed her lips in a tight line.

"Fine!" she retorted almost shouting. "Well, I suppose that your arm was injured by nothing, then?"

She could've sworn that the always intimidating ice beauty had cringed at the tone of her voice, however as fast at the unusual display had come, it had disappeared, leaving only an angry glare. Natsuki had opened her mouth to shoot back a retort at her employee, but found herself late as the one who spoke was the person, who had now moved to lean gracefully on the back of the couch.

"Natsuki got herself in gang trouble again and her pretty head wasn't able to get her out of the mess this time," she cheerfully replied, provoking a heated "Shizuru!" from her friend.

"So it wasn't just that one time?" asked Mai in bewilderment, not believing what she had heard. She held strongly to the optimistic delusion that her new… friend _(The word was used for a lack of a more appropriate term. Acquaintance was too distant, while employer was too demanding and professional. Surely she could call her schoolmate, who she worked for and who had saved her from a hopeless predicament, a friend)_ was not involved in the dark depths of the criminal world of the gangs.

Said friend put on an impartial expression and didn't even bother to get mad at Shizuru for giving up such information. She looked away and stalked for the kitchen, the sink in particular, reaching for a glass with her good hand and poured herself cold water. Mai threw a questioning look at the crimson-eyed second-year, who motioned for her to follow her in the kitchen.

Sitting herself at the table, the student council president softly spoke. "Natsuki should be more careful and tell her friends where she's going in case she finds herself in trouble. Like today, for example. If Yamada-han hadn't contacted me and told me to look for you at that building…"

"Shut up!" fiercely growled Natsuki, staring a hole on the counter. "I'm going to have a long talk with that bastard about his mingling in my personal affairs! And drawing you in on the top of that! And you," she turned around hastily, and drew out between gritted teeth, "Why did you come? You could've gotten hurt!"

"And let Natsuki continue with her self-destructive activities? I think not," retorted calmly, but nevertheless exasperatedly, Shizuru.

Mai felt that was her cue to leave the small room. She had already stocked up the fridge with the ingredients that she deemed necessary to buy with the money she had been given. Now that her only job in there had been finished, she slipped out of the kitchen, but before closing the door behind her, she was stopped by a single word.

"Wait," she slowly turned around and regarded the one, who had called out, with a bit of puzzlement.

"What is it?" Mai asked, not sure what was coming her way. She hoped she hadn't offended Natsuki with something she had done.

"I need to tell both of you something," she seriously stated, throwing a glance at the third girl, who was looking almost ready to frown.

"Does Natsuki plan on telling us she cannot decide which one of us she likes more?" Natsuki paid no heed to Shizuru's tease, but her cheeks did turn a bit redder. Mai couldn't react on time and even before she could get embarrassed or flustered, Natsuki started speaking.

"Shizuru knows full well that I don't wish to make close acquaintances and I wish to inform you of that, as well. I strongly advise you that you keep your distance from me. We're going to keep going strictly only as an employer and employee and maybe schoolmates, but nothing more. I cannot take the responsibility of taking care of somebody if they are somehow retraced back to me by my enemies," at the deaf silence she was granted with, she continued.

"Unfortunately, Shizuru never listens to me and constantly persists on being my friend. I cannot accept that. I just wanted to let you to know that it would only be a bother if we got any closer than this."

Mai didn't know what to say. Surely, she had been getting to know the other girl better day by day and had grown to even enjoy her silent company, when she was graced with it. She would talk to Natsuki, while dusting the furniture, but almost never had received more than two words in a response.

The only time they had been able to form a conversation of sorts, was when she had accidentally pushed a book out of one of the three packed bookcases and the title had caught her attention. She didn't know that Natsuki enjoyed reading philosophy books from famous authors. The explanation she got was that this book was a memento given from her father, with whom she had had no face-to-face encounters for the past seven years. But when she had tried to pursue a further enlightenment on the subject, she had been given the cold shoulder. Despite that, Natsuki now knew most of her past and worries, except some of the more personal issues she had and hadn't shared with anybody. What broke her out of her stupor was the screeching of the president's chair scraping against the tiles.

"Tokiha-han, I think we should leave this bitter person to her own devices," the owner of the voice was resting her palms on the table, her crimson eyes downcast. No-one made the effort to move, so Shizuru once again took the initiative.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, right, Natsuki?" she headed slowly for the front door, planning to leave the apartment. Her wavy chestnut tresses bounced behind her, emitting a golden shine because of the sunlight, falling on them, which was oozing from between the slits of the curtains, covering the windows.

"What makes you so sure I'll be coming?" stiffly questioned Natsuki, who was leaning against the kitchen counter.

"I'm the student council president, I am sure Natsuki hasn't forgotten this fact," the subtle threat didn't go unnoticed, but met no response. "Tokiha-han?"

"Yes, president?" Mai was currently an internal struggle whether to conduct her duties, or follow the second-year out of the apartment.

"Go already, quit stalking," urged them the agitated owner of the flat, glaring at the retreating form of her self-appointed friend. Mai collected her belongings and went after Shizuru, who was already waiting for her at the elevator. The only reason she felt she really wanted to leave, was that she could get the opportunity to talk to the president. And before she had returned home, she had gotten the answers of some of the questions she had. It had given her a topic on which to dwell. So even when Mikoto had jumped at her joyfully, requesting rather eagerly to receive something to eat, she was not immediately pleased with a meal.

While watching the middle-schooler eat her very own specialty, Mai thought over what the president had shared with her. She most certainly hadn't expected to be entrusted with the hard task to subtly get closer to Natsuki.

"Natsuki trusts nobody, except herself and _very_ occasionally me," the concerned second-year had shared, while both of them were walking towards the dorms of the school. "When she was little some pretty unpleasant things happened to her, of which I found out by accident. I don't think Natsuki has forgiven me yet about that time, either. But I request of you, Tokiha-han, please be one of her anchors to reality, or else she will be consumed by the dangerous games she is playing."

"Why has she turned out like this?" inquired Mai, tilting her head a bit to the side, as to see the taller girl better.

She was indeed striking, she noted to herself. It was understandable why most of the students were in love with her and had chosen her as the first second-year to make to the post of student council president. The young woman carried herself with poise and dignity, which she hadn't witnessed in another person her age before. Oh, certainly Natsuki had also an air of a high-bred individual about her, but it was more wild and untamed, chasing admirers away, while the Kyoto beauty invited people with her friendly and calm disposition.

Seeing her troubled over something was a rare sight, Mai decided, and was sure that she should take up the request, since, after all, she did owe Natsuki her life. She wasn't somebody, who didn't pay her debts and was ready to sacrifice a part of her dignity and time to help her new friend.

"Let's just say that Natsuki's mother left her daughter at a fragile age in a very crucial moment and her father hasn't sought her out personally since then. Oh, but they do have quite the interactions, if you happen to hear them. He is supposed to contact her in a week from now. Tokiha-han probably wouldn't be able to witness it for herself, though, since Natsuki's sense of privacy is on par with that of a hermit."

They had entered the campus's premises and had stopped in front of the dorms, where Mai resided.

"Here we must part ways for today," smilingly stated Shizuru, politely bidding goodbye to the younger girl. "I wish you a pleasant evening, Tokiha-han."

"Yes, thank you. To you too, president Fujino," replied Mai before entering and leaving the other student deal with the forming group of fans, which was molding itself steadily around her.

Now, Mikoto was dozing off on the table, the empty cup of ramen deserted and forgotten next to the smaller girl's plopped elbows. Ah, the middle-schooler was much easier to understand, why couldn't all people be as spontaneous, straightforward and innocent as she was?


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hi! To all of the people, who continue to read this: thank you! Anyways, I really don't know what else to say... If you have any questions about the game in this chapter, send me a message or an e-mail and I'll gladly explain. Uhm, have a nice read. Oh, next week I probably won't be able to update and I apologize to those who will be waiting for a continuation. I'll do my best, though and I'll try not to disappoint (if I haven't done so already ^^U). Thanks for the attention.**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME.**

* * *

As days went by, the weather was steadily getting hotter and hotter, this indicating the approach of July and the end of the first semester of the school year. Tests were nearing and everybody was studying harder than usual, since as of late Fuuka School was raising its requirements to the students in order to create more capable future cadres. So even Mai found it difficult to keep up with the attention-demanding tasks, given them by the teachers and really wondered how some people were able to retain a high position in the registry, grades wise. Some people like the one, whose kitchen she was now cleaning.

"Honestly, Natsuki, how do you keep your grades comparatively high, since you come to school roughly twice a week?" she irately asked the girl, who was typing something ferociously on her computer's keyboard. As expected, she received no answer and let out an angry grumble, directed mostly to a persistent spot on the fridge. Suddenly the power went off and Mai jumped up in surprise to the unfamiliar voice she heard from the living room.

"_How do you do, my dear?"_ spoke deeply a man.

"Damn, he got me again!" Natsuki hit her fist upon the desk, staring angrily at her UPS-powered computer's screen. Her red-haired schoolmate rushed to her side, but she paid her no apparent attention, for her sharp emeralds were focused on a chess-piece picture of a white King on the monitor.

"_I am aware that your UPS will be able to support your computer for about… fourteen more minutes, in which you can save all the precious files you have acquired in the past weeks. You've taken precautions, since last time, I see,"_ lilac eyes were looking incomprehensibly at the chess-piece taking up the whole screen. Their owner heard quite clearly the gritting of teeth and a most audible growl_. "However! If you are unable to get past my next task, not only will you not be paid your monthly support money, but as an addition to this usual rule, you will lose all of your information, because of a newly developed virus I sent to you to put it through a test. Said virus will disable your power supply in… twenty seconds. If you succeed, you will receive the payment as per usual. Good luck, Natsuki."_

The picture of the chess-piece was replaced by something else, which spoke nothing to the confused Mai. A text, looking like a mathematical problem, greeted her shocked stare.

"Bastard…" she heard Natsuki whisper, while scribbling at a blinding speed numbers on a sheet of paper, which had been lying on the desk. Mai read carefully the problem, but couldn't even begin to solve it, when Natsuki entered the solution and pressed the 'Send' button. The short question, needed to be answered, was:

"_What is the possibility for 'fight' to be written with the letters of the English alphabet, if five different letters are chosen randomly?"_

The timer just counted out 'zero' and the picture of the white King appeared once again, which indicated that most probably the answer had been correct.

"_Splendid! With your answer of 1/7,893,600, you have proven me that you are at least aware of the number of the letters in the English alphabet, my dear," _mockingly announced the voice Natsuki's small victory, with distinguishable mirth. _"I would've been most upset, if you hadn't been able to solve something as simple as this. I was curious as to whether you would be able to do so in such a small amount of time. Next month I'll put much more effort in my game."_

The screen flashed and returned to its previous state – numerous opened files, documents and photographs. Before Mai could direct any inquiries towards her schoolmate, she was interrupted by the return of the power, the gloomy abode's lamps once again flashed on and relieved them of the repressing and suspenseful atmosphere, that had hung about them for a short while.

Natsuki hurriedly saved her progress on whatever she had been doing and logged off, not allowing Mai's gaze to linger on the screen for any longer. Even though she had read a single name, the transfer student couldn't connect it to anything in her mind, so she pushed it back for now. There were more important things she intended to learn.

"What was that ordeal just now?" she demanded in a tone, which left no room for refusal. She deserved to know at least that, even though Natsuki rebuffed all of her attempts to learn even a piece of information about her.

"That was my monthly call from 'daddy'," coldly replied Natsuki, clenching and unclenching her fists. "If I want to be able to receive money from him, I should be capable enough to play his games. He thinks that by giving me stupid math problems, he would raise my potential. What an asshole," she concluded. Closing her eyes, she leaned back and rested her hand on her eyes.

"Do you think you can tell me something more about what just happened?" Mai doubted that she would get an answer, but decided to go for it, despite the odds of being left in the dark again. She was mildly taken aback when slim fingers spread a bit, allowing a green eye to peek at her, elevating her. She tried to straighten up, coughed and tried to look uninterested, as she busied herself with picking a stack of papers from the floor.

"Well," the Ice Princess spoke at last from behind her schoolmate. "I suppose that since you'll be working here, stuff like that will happen, so I'll tell you some things. Take a seat at the couch and look at _me_, I'm not talking to your ass," the one being addressed quickly jumped up and did as told, slightly fuming at the rudeness. After seating herself comfortably, she indicated that she was ready to listen to whatever she was going to be told.

"My old man is a philosophy-lover, mathematician and a scientist, much like my late mother. I won't indulge into why we're not in the best of relationships with him, but the point is that since I was left on my own, he has been taking care of my tuition and monthly costs. However, for some time now he has decided to give me mathematical problems, paradox questions and different mind-bogglers. If I can't answer them, he doesn't pay me. Once I didn't and had to find a part-time job for the month. Last time he sent me a letter through the normal mail. It was a letter with his latest mind-fucking game for his beloved daughter. When I opened it, the power went off and the data on my PC went bye-bye, since I hadn't saved it yet. He can watch my every movement and this drives me crazy. I suspect it's something in this apartment, but I can't find it yet. This man is unforgivable, I swear, but I can't do anything against him yet, so I'm forced to play.

"In the previous letter I was warned that next month he'll send some people to play a game of cards with me. Bridge, he wrote. I was supposed to learn it in two months, now I have only one."

"And have you done any progress?" prodded Mai, a bit curious of the unusual arrangement between father and daughter. It certainly explained a lot why Natsuki was able to keep her grades tip-top and still be able to skip school and go about her shady business, whatever it was.

"On the theory and rules, yes. But I don't have a partner yet," she replied, seemingly emotionless, but the other girl could distinguish the trace of unease on those pale features.

"I must agree that finding a partner for such a complicated game wouldn't be easy. Not much people play cards nowadays and even less would be able to keep up with such a complexity like Bridge," Mai commented thoughtfully, unaware of the almost undetectable display of interest directed towards her.

"You have heard of the game?" came an inquiry from the one, relaxing in the snivel chair.

"Yes, dad and his colleagues used to entertain themselves with it back at home before… Ah, never mind," she finished lamely, not wishing to exaggerate on the subject. She still found her parents' deaths a part of her past that could not be discussed freely. In that aspect, she perfectly well understood the reclusive high-schooler, she was working for, and her unwillingness to share whatever about her history. Earlier she was surprised that the subject of the late Kuga-san had been brought up, even if it was like an explication to the description of the cause of the blackout. She was grateful her schoolmate didn't press for a further explanation, but instead asked a differently oriented question.

"What card games have you played?"

"Well, as a child, I used to play Old Maid with my friends," sheepishly replied Mai, now distracted from her dark thoughts from just a moment ago.

"So you don't even know how to play Belote?" was the near-amazed reply. The amusement in the full-toned, but nevertheless distinguishingly feminine, voice succeeded in irritating Mai, who crossed her arms in front of her and pouted.

"Why, yes, I don't gamble like a certain someone I know. I am not much of a card-player," after her unsuccessful attempt at wiping that smug expression from the opposing offender's face, she decided to continue. "But it seems you're good only in the easy hazard games and I bet I can learn to play in less time than you can!"

She realized she had fallen in the trap far too late. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth and she inwardly swore, as emerald eyes flashed dangerously, but then acquired an almost innocent glow.

"Oh, really now?" the mocking tone in which the mistrustful retort was thrown in her face put her off even more. "Want to give it a try?"

"That would be unfair!" quickly defended herself Mai. "You told me that you'd learned the theory in the last month, whilst I am acquainted only with the most basic rules!"

"But you said yourself that you could learn faster than me. Surely you'll manage a challenge from somebody like me – somebody, who can only depend on luck and card counting?"

"I… I…"

'I really shouldn't have opened my big mouth,' the newly-hired maid thought bitterly. It was too late to back off now. This was an opportunity to gain some well deserved respect and trust. She would lose the little link with Natsuki she had been able to forge in the past weeks if she refused to participate. Despite of it not being much of a bond, she was going to strengthen it and keep it. For that very purpose, she knew she was going to be forced to take a very major part in the little game Natsuki had indirectly, at first, challenged her to.

"Okay, but only if you let me prepare myself," she finally admitted her defeat. She could've sworn that a shadow of childish excitement ran over the face of the Ice Princess, however it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

* * *

"Chie-chan, what do I do?" she whined to her bespectacled friend, during the lunch break the next day. They were sitting on a table in the open yard, accompanied like usually by Mikoto and Aoi.

"She didn't state any conditions, did she?" asked Aoi, sitting across from her. Receiving a shake of a fiery-orange head, she continued. "Well, I suppose that if what you're telling us is the whole story, then this is a harmless card game, not hiding any ruses."

Of course, she wasn't telling them the whole story, deliberately skipping on the part with the blackout and Natsuki's father. She had made up a lie about the origin of the conversation lead her to foolishly accepting an innocent at a first glance game. Naturally, she had also left out the reason why she was working for her schoolmate in the first place. One, it was embarrassing to tell that she worked like a maid and two, she would have to give a reason why she had left her job at the department store. So she had informed Natsuki that she was lying to her friends about her part-time and they had both agreed on sticking to the version of her going to the apartment for their history project's sake.

Luckily or not for them, Sugiura-sensei had paired them up for a project they were supposed to present at the end of the semester. The only problem was that they hadn't done anything about their assignment up until now, so Mai was starting to get worried. But her other big inconvenience, which fueled her unease, was the impending game.

Sure, it was only a game, however something told her that the games took a high place in Natsuki's life and that her schoolmate took them more seriously than other things in her life. Like getting along with people or forming bonds for instance.

There was still the problem that they were only two, while the game required four players. She wasn't going to worry about that, though. It wasn't her problem and if they couldn't find anybody else to play with, the arrangement was off. Oh, Mai just knew that Natsuki was having an ulterior motive for tricking her to play against her.

"So have you started learning?" asked Chie, while flipping through the photos on her telephone.

"I know a thing or two and I need to refresh my knowledge a bit. I must say that I've watched a number of games as a child and from what I remember, it won't be easy. But I'm confident that I have an advantage over Natsuki and that would be the fact that I have an incredible luck in cards," boasted Mai, shoving a piece of green salad in her mouth and chewing on it with a triumphant look.

"I don't believe you," slyly leaned the gossip queen towards her.

"Why not?" she dejectedly asked.

"Because it is said that whoever has a lucky hand in cards, gets unlucky in love. Lately you aren't one bit unlucky with all the attention you receive from Kanzaki-senpai and Tate-kun."

Aoi chuckled, while Mikoto continued to look questioningly between the two conversationalists. Those hints spoke nothing to the middle-schooler, who was as oblivious as a moth, flying towards the flame, unaware of the impending doom awaiting her. She needed to learn a thing or two about relationships, but nobody had thought it necessary to enlighten her.

"K-Kanzaki-senpai and I are just acquaintances, while Yuuichi is…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Tate Yuuichi was the vice-captain of the Kendo Club and also in the same year as her. He was blond, gruff and goofy on times, earning Mai's attention the first time they had met.

Like a normal teenage girl, she was, naturally, romantically interested in the handsome boy, who seemed to return her affections more often lately. The only obstacle was his so called sister Munakata Shiho, who was constantly by his side, not allowing him to have his own personal life, if it didn't include her ninety-nine per-cent of the time. The one percent left was reserved for the toilet and other needs that demanded a sole personal touch.

The other slightly troubling aspect was that the school's most popular boy Kanzaki Reito didn't hide his interest in her, as well. It wasn't like she thought him unpleasant, but Yuuichi seemed more down-to-earth to her and a much more suitable match than the charming upper classman. Oh, Reito was exceptional in every way, as Mikoto often assured her in a most endearing and innocent way, as he was her older half-brother and she knew him well. He was also gifted in Kendo, but it seemed that this year he had dedicated his free time to his duties in the student council and had given up his position as club captain to the spirited Takeda Masashi. Mikoto was also on the Kendo club and had urged Mai to join, too, but she had refused her every time she had been asked. She supposed that she would join a club when things were more laid-back and she had grown more accustomed to the dynamic life at the campus.

"Tate-kun is what, Mai-chan?" Aoi, that little fox, asked pointedly. Of course, she was referring to all of the occasions Mai and the boy had spent time together. Out of pure coincidence, of course. Nobody could deny, though, that there was chemistry between them.

"He's a classmate!" she defended passionately her lack of decisiveness in her love life. Aoi and Chie exchanged knowing glances, conveying a silent message with a meaning known all too well to both of them. Even though Mai did like the guy, they had discussed, she wasn't ready to admit it to him, if he didn't give any indications that he liked her back. To everyone else it was obvious, but the two of them were just too oblivious.

"So anyways," Chie decided to pursuit the topic, which was more interesting for her at the moment. "When will that game of yours occur?"

* * *

"You didn't tell me to prepare for that," Mai was staring rabidly at the one, sitting on the opposite side of the table.

"I didn't say that you'd be playing against me. I said that I challenged you to learn the rules and game before I did," calmly replied Natsuki, while watching a pair of hands riffling a deck of cards. Mai couldn't retort to that. Now that she recalled their conversation, Natsuki really didn't mention that they would be playing against each other for sure. She nervously glanced at their opponents.

One of them was a blond woman in her late twenties with a white jacket and a short revealing skirt, sunglasses hiding the color of her eyes. Her partner was a lean tall man, also wearing shades and much like the woman, was clad in white, his hair a lighter shade of blond. They were all in Natsuki's apartment, sitting around the kitchen's table.

"It still is unfair! Even though I read a thing or two, I am not confident enough to win!"

"You just do what you can, I'll handle the rest."

That haughty attitude of hers again! Why was she so full of herself? It angered Mai to no end and if she could, she would have left. In fact…

"I'm leaving," she stood up, pushing the chair backwards, its screeching drawing the other three's attention towards her. The blond woman and man were obviously amused at the sudden display of teenage remonstrance against the seemingly unfair arrangement.

"If you leave, not only will you lose your job, but you'll also lose the opportunity to win your brother's operation money," at the unexpected notification, the one leaving stopped and froze on her spot.

"What… did you say?" she shakily asked the one, looking smugly at her. Natsuki was blackmailing her, she realized. That girl knew why she needed to work and earn money and had shamelessly exploited her pure intentions and desires to cure her brother of his insidious disease. Not only had she left herself be used, she had let that indefensible person use Takumi as well. She was not going to forgive her. Before she could lash out in a rage at her schoolmate, the older woman spoke in heavily accented Japanese.

"I would advise you participate in this game, since it would provide both of you a huge sum if you win," she adjusted her glasses and made herself comfortable in one of the chairs, opposite of her male partner.

"Besides," he also spoke for the first time with the same accent the woman had spoken with. "Kuga-san would be in a mighty predicament if she were to lose this game.

"I don't "care about her," coldly replied Mai, staring at passive emerald eyes, her own lilac ones burning with unhidden contempt. However, the opportunity to save her little brother was most certainly tempting. If she didn't take it, she knew that it would hang over her head, even if she didn't tell Takumi about it. "But if what you're telling about the price is true, I'll play."

"Very well, let's begin already," spurred Natsuki, clearly excited at the new challenge and possibility to explore a new war-field of sorts.

"I'm not doing this for you," told her Mai, resuming her sit opposite from the Ice Beauty, locking her gaze with hers.

"I would be disappointed if you did. I'm not doing this solely for you and your brother, either," her partner retorted with a self-confident and haunting smirk.

The cards were lying on the wooden surface, ready to be picked up and for the players to grant them with life. While ordering them by colors and strength, Mai decided to clear things up between her and Natsuki even more.

"I am not concerned on what you think of me, Natsuki. Just win this stupid game and compensate me for all of the trouble you've put me through."

"I remember it was the opposite, but whatever floats your boat."

"You are insufferable. I cannot believe you! Why the student council president bothers with you is beyond me. I thought that you had a good side to you. It turns out that you're just a manipulative delinquent, just like Suzushiro-senpai has always claimed you to be!"

"You keep talking, I'm not listening. How funny is that?" replied to her without a trace of interest the one being lectured.

The two other people in the small kitchen observed the exchange with unhidden interest, both of them smirking slightly as if they were pleased with what was happening. They were ready with ordering their cards by strength and were now waiting for a sign that the game could begin. Without sparing a glance towards her partner Natsuki nodded, indicating that she was ready to counter the bidding of the one who was first for this round – the blond man.

"One Diamond," he declared. Mai visibly tensed, but otherwise gave no indication of her discord of the said color. Her lilac eyes flicked towards the other girl, who was silently frowning at her own cards, her dark brows furrowed in thought.

"Pass," she emotionlessly announced to her partner that she had nothing to counter the opponent's bidding.

'This is bad,' Mai could only hope that the woman wouldn't raise the stakes, as her own cards were quite the disappointment.

"Three Hearts," the melodious announcement cut all her hopes to shreds. Not only did her hand consist of a total of one trump – the ace of spades. It wasn't backed up with anything strong and her spades were very weak.

"Pass," she breathed out. She didn't hear when the other two after her 'passed', but was woken up from her stupor when a card hit the wooden surface.

When she had come to the apartment to do her duties, she expected to find nobody at the abode, since Natsuki usually was out at that time of the day on a Tuesday. Instead Mai had been invited to the kitchen by the woman, who hadn't even introduced herself and there she was told that the day of the test had been moved to today. The man, who was sitting next to a very displeased Ice Princess, had told her that since they had broken the agreement, they were going to play Rubber Bridge, instead of its Contract counterpart, which had been complicated. Well, it certainly was much easier to play, but it still was too early!

With a score of 540:60 the situation was not the slightest bit pleasurable for the high-school team, since they were the ones with the pathetic number of points. In the last three games they had been able to win only a small amount of tricks, which had given them the points they now had. The one, who was supposed to do the dealing, was once again the man, who had now introduced himself as Peter and the woman, his sister, as Clarisa.

"Before we begin with the fourth phase," he turned towards Natsuki and thus earned her attention, "let's make this game more enjoyable."

"How so?" suspiciously regarded him a pair of green eyes. Wasn't the game going already against them, inwardly shivered Mai.

Clarisa reached inside the case, resting next to her chair, and pulled out a laptop.

"The White King told us to offer Kuga-san this after her team had won their first game," she typed on the keyboard a few commands and turned the conveyable PC towards Natsuki, enabling her, and Mai, to see what was on the screen. It was a map of the city, shown by a satellite. The transfer student noted that there were two arrows – a red and a blue one – moving towards each other. At the speed they were advancing it looked like they would meet up at downtown, more accurately – in front of the Museum of Modern Arts.

"What is this?" inquired Mai, seeing that the other girl would not voice the question bothering both of them.

"A map, obviously. What interests you is the meeting point of the two arrows," explained light-heartedly Peter, drumming his fingers on the table.

"The Museum of Modern Arts," growled Natsuki, startling Mai, who hadn't expected this kind of a violent reaction from her schoolmate. "You bastards, what are you planning!"

"Oh, so you've picked up on our plan rather quickly? The two arrows are two opposing gangs, planning on an all-out brawl in the middle of the city," this time Clarisa was the one to speak, while snickering in a most vexatious way. "This is quite the event, since it has never happened before."

"Did you arrange this?" lowly spoke Natsuki, her body language indicating that she was ready to pounce at anyone, who dared to displease her with an undesired answer.

"Oh, no, please don't accuse us of something so outrageous!" Clarisa defended herself and the ones she served. "But we could let you go and prevent a certain Fujino Shizuru from getting hurt in, let's say, an ac…"

The moment her suspicions were confirmed, Natsuki had shot out of her chair and grabbed the collar of the woman's jacket, their faces now inches apart.

"Stop the game and let me go. Now!" demanded the furious teenager, but was shoved back in her chair by a rough and strong hand, belonging to the blond man. This forced her to let go the woman's piece of clothing, who only adjusted it with an imperturbable movement.

"Calm down. The White King said that this would act as a better motivation for you to play, since he found out that money would not be enough of a stimulant. Information that you could ensure yourself an income through gambling has reached us and the King said he couldn't allow that."

"So he is forcing me to play by his rules and is using Shizuru as a hostage?" snarled the disgruntled Natsuki, who was now digging her nails in the table's edge.

'How does your own medicine taste, Natsuki?' inwardly gloated Mai, before she realized that she should not be feeling good about the Ice Princess's predicament. After all, she was not that kind of a person.

"Well, Fujino-san does happen to have a fascination for the Arts' Museum and spends her every Tuesday afternoon there. It was a mere coincidence that…"

"Shut up! What you're telling me is bullshit! I can figure out that you people were the ones to manipulate the events this way!"

"I suggest we continue with our game, Kuga-san," offered Peter, now sitting once again in his chair and starting to riffle the deck. "If we don't conclude it within the next half an hour, it would be too late for you to go and do something."

"Fine! Bring it on! I won't go easy on you from now on. I have gathered up enough information to bring you down!"

How had Natsuki changed her attitude so fast? Did the threat towards Shizuru-san pose such a deciding factor in her behavior and way of thinking? And what was that passionate declaration of defeating their opponents? Both of the adults were ahead in the score and were not going to toy with them any longer.

Up until now every played hand had been threading on the soft soil of uncertainty and inspection of the opposite team's moves, Mai concluded. If so, had the siblings deciphered their individual methods of playing? But they hadn't shown any remarkable skills. Once again she found herself struck with realization as a post effect of Natsuki's plan.

'A Grovenor gambit*?' she remembered with astonishment, recalling having read about it this morning.

She had originally thought it odd that her partner was inadequately announcing cards and colors, not corresponding to her hands and the way she played. Now it became clear to her that the other girl had deliberately made mistakes and let them lose a few rounds in order to study her opponents and not let them gain anything of equal value. So that was why she was so confident! Her eyes met those of her schoolmate and she was silently assured that they wouldn't lose this game and in return she showed that she had understood what the hidden plan had been.

They were ready to continue.

* * *

Glossary:

*Grosvenor gambit – a play that creates no direct advantage and might lose. Its principal features are that an opponent will not suspect that such an inept play has been made, and that once the opponent realizes what has occurred, he will be frustrated and angry (and therefore less effective) during subsequent hands.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hello, dear readers! Congrats on reaching this far! I wish you happy holidays and I guess I'll see you next year, since... well, you know parties and stuff. I thank for the review **_**zaie**_** dropped for last chapter, I'm glad you like it so far. I'm doing my best for the moment, so I'll be drawing powers from the support you benevolent people give me. I'm grateful. Have a nice read. As usual, the glossary is at the bottom. If there are things that bother you, contact me, so that I can fix the problem in time.**_

_**Added Later: I'm sorry, but I won't be able to update before New Year.**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME.**

* * *

When people say 'clearly', that means there's a huge crack in their argument and they know things aren't clear at all. Well, clearly Natsuki and Mai's team was in a disadvantage, Peter and Clarisa had thought. So why were they affected by the Kuga's statement of a certain victory just three rounds ago? Probably because they were starting to lose their precedence in the score ever since the bold declaration, the siblings had discovered with bafflement.

After a couple of magnificently done conventions and a virtuously accomplished Grand Slam*, the two had their doubts about the difficulty of the task they had been given. It was as if their moves were foretold the instance they attempted to make a bigger number of tricks. The other curious occurrence was that no matter who started, the one serving as the dummy** ended up being the red-headed girl. She didn't look displeased at all, though. On the contrary – she was almost as confident as her partner.

"Five spades," came the declaration from Natsuki, resounding with finality, the tone in which it had been spoken not leaving place for confrontation. Nobody offered a higher bid, this resulting in Clarisa once again starting the game, attacking the dummy – Mai. She once again laid her cards in front of her*** and awaited for the declarer – Natsuki to tell her what to play.

After she had laid all of her cards, Mai sneaked a glance at the laptop's screen, noting that they had ten minutes until the gangs would meet up. Curiosity got the better of her and even though she knew that it was forbidden to speak during games, she ventured to voice her worries out loud.

"How do you plan to stop us leave, even if we lose?"

"We have a few guards positioned in the underground garage, at the bigger crossroads and at the entrance of this apartment. Surely, you have at least taken notice of the three presentably looking young men on the ground floor. Two girls can't possibly hope to pass our forces."

"I see… Which gangs are going to cause the commotion?"

"They are the Hazard and some new one, called the Kisame. We don't know who helped them break in the complicated world of the gangs, but it looks like that their leader Gouda Kinzo and Tenun have this animosity going on between them," explained the distressed Peter, who cautiously played his next card, only to witness that his move had been futile, as the high-school team gained another trick effortlessly.

"Complicated world? How so?" Mai furrowed her brows in incomprehension. The gang world didn't look that impenetrable and tangled to her, since it was consisting of all kinds of people, who made profit by other's misery and unfortunates.

"Well, you see, your city's ruler…" Clarisa responded to the card Natsuki had slapped on the table with her own in a victorious move to obtain a hand.

"Don't tell her anything about that, it's too risky for an outsider to know things that could put her in danger," she scolded the siblings, her eyes fixed unmoving on the table.

The way the command had come immediately made her opponents seize all of the chit-chat, despite the fact that the girl didn't possess any authority over them. It seemed to them that it was better to focus on the game, instead of answering mundane, for them at least, questions. This also put a stop to Mai's efforts to get a more clear understanding on what was going on around her.

"After this game I wish to speak on the phone," stated, more than requested, Natsuki, stretching her hand to collect a set of four cards.

"I believe this is not allowed," Clarisa made her point by throwing a side glance at the laptop. "This could result in us refusing to benevolently lend our help in letting you go and save your dear friend."

Emeralds narrowed, a predatory glint present in the always cool depths, which now had had their ability to freeze the bone-marrow increase tenfold. Mai couldn't imagine what it was at the receiving end of such a distinct display of enmity, but was sure that in her current state she couldn't meet with it head-on. She was still furious at her partner for using her and Takumi so insolently, however this was no factor that could prevent her from admiring the ferocity behind every small, but aggressively sharpened, motion and gesture.

"And if we fail, will you and your little army let innocent people suffer?"

"If that happens, let's hope that the corrupt official police forces would be able to prevent any incidents from happening. They probably know about this though and don't plan on interfering. Not before it's all over, at least. You know how the respectable Mr. Smith is on the policy of gangs, I believe," Peter offered Natsuki his response, which was met with ominous silence.

The time was twenty past three. The game would probably be finished in the next round, Mai judged from the look in those emeralds.

* * *

"Hey! Listen, can you meet up with me at the entrance of the Museum in two minutes?" Natsuki was jumping three steps at a time, while shouting in her mobile, leaving a slightly panting Mai trailing behind her.

Upstairs they had left, inside the thoughtlessly unlocked apartment, the two siblings, crushed in defeat. Natsuki had mercilessly dealt the final blow in a swift and unforgiving way, after which she had dashed out, grabbing her telephone and keys, her maid following closely behind.

Mai was still feeling a small swell of pride in her chest, caused by the expressions that the two antagonists in their little Bridge adventure had had after their loss. It was obvious that they had not expected such a quick defeat in the face of two teenage girls. She didn't pity them, though. Threatening them with the lives of so many was indeed underhanded and their organization deserved to be the one on the losing end. Usually a game of cards wouldn't matter much, she reasoned, but in the case of the recent events, she really wasn't sure any more.

"What? This is bad! Take them if needed, just hurry up, okay? Please!"

Stuffing the device in her pocket, she turned to look back at Mai, who had now caught up with her and both of them were jogging towards the blue Ducati.

"What's wrong?" Mai sat herself behind the other girl after she had waited for the driver to adjust her helmet and give her one to put on, as well.

"Looks like Harada and Senou have asked Shizuru to help them a bit with their history project, since they decided to focus more on the aspect of art. Shizuru is knowledgeable in that department and would gladly offer her assistance and she did exactly that. Now the three of them are at the Museum of Modern Arts, where they are supposed to gather up some data on the influence of the old historical events on the contemporary artists," explained hurriedly the biker, revving the engine and taking off, without giving Mai the opportunity to pry more. She didn't miss, though, the way Natsuki talked about her friend with reverie and respect, an action quite uncommon for the otherwise so self-confident and occasionally conceited individual.

The bike weaved through the city traffic (which really wasn't that much that day) like all the cars and trucks were standing in a static position, posing no obstacle for the hasty driver, who was not only speeding to get to the museum to save her friend, but also to save her own life, as Mai was holding her in a death-grip. The distressed transfer student didn't realize how lethal her sense of preservation could prove to be for Natsuki, whose vision had begun to blur, due to the lack of oxygen supply to her brain. Luckily they had just arrived.

"And, ladies and gentlemen, this is a new world record!" jokingly commented Mai after staggering off the hell-machine. She threw the helmet back at Natsuki, who didn't even bother to put it inside the compartment, but instead ran up to the stairs of the impressive big stone building of the Museum of Modern Arts.

There were awaiting them the three Fuuka High School's students, clad in their uniforms in order to get a price discount of the tickets' prices. Shizuru beamed as soon as her rubies landed on her dark-haired friend and her companion. Chie and Aoi looked puzzled to some extent, but nevertheless greeted Natsuki and Mai when they practically teleported in front of them.

"My, what has Natsuki and Tokiha-han…?"

"No time to explain! We need to get away from downtown as quickly as possible!" Natsuki gripped with a painful determination the student council president's upper arm and dragged her away from the museum.

Mai did the same in a more civilized fashion with the other two girls and they caught up with the now frantic delinquent, who was gazing at the other end of the big boulevard, where the museum lay. Mai heard her slip a few profanities in her next short explanatory narration, directed at Shizuru, who visibly cringed at the use of such foul language, but nodded in understanding despite her mannered self.

Both of the girls started scanning the streets for something unknown for Mai and before she could offer to help, she saw Shizuru pointing towards an empty patrol car, parked not too far from their position. This attracted Natsuki's interest, who had been quite illogically, according to Mai, gazing at the roofs of the tall office buildings.

Natsuki's eyes were now staring stoically ahead, slightly narrowed, and when Mai followed them, she froze. Indeed, she recognized a huge procession of slowly advancing jeeps, motorbikes, ATVs and sport cars. They were painted with the colors of Fuuka's baseball team, so they didn't look that much suspicious, except for that they were half an hour late for the game.

That had to be one of the fractions, which were going to launch the attack at the centre of the city, Mai reasoned.

"We have to get out of here and tell the other people to do that, too!" she yelled, drawing the group's attention and Natsuki's disapproving glare. The two other first-years gasped at the sight of the approaching masqueraded menace.

Of course, the whole situation had its small bright sides. The teenagers were lucky that Fuuka's baseball team was playing with another team for the national semi-finals, so most of the people were at the other part of the city, rooting for their team, so it was a given that there were hardly any workers or students at their current location. The working class had even been given a day off in honor of the match. If not anything else, the citizens of Fuuka were heated sport fans and the rulers recognized that little queer of the people.

"Shut up, you idiot! We're not here for those people!"

"And what did we come for then?"

"_I _came for Shizuru, I've no idea why _you_ tagged along."

"So you want to save just president Fujino? Fine! It's already impossible," nagged back Mai, her anger surfacing once more. She hadn't forgotten so quickly the act of unfairness that the other girl had committed against her and her brother, none the less. It was also extremely aggravating that she obviously thought so less about lives, which did not overlap with her own.

Chie and Aoi looked helplessly between the two bickering female students. They had missed the fact that Shizuru was no longer amongst them.

"Why come with me then?" taunted Natsuki, but prevented another tongue-lashing by continuing to speak, changing a slight bit the topic. "Do you think that those stupid conceited people would believe a group of high school girls, running around, shouting instructions how to evacuate the area? Besides, they're not blind, they'll know soon."

'You're the one, who's conceited,' Mai frowned over the question she was asked, but acknowledged that the biker had a point.

"I know you have a plan, All-Mighty One. So what is it?" she decided against asking anything else, eager to hear the other's idea.

"We're going to steal that police car."

Mai choked. Aoi and Chie, who were rooted silently on their spots up until that moment, had expressions of anally surprised does. During the whole scene of initial shock, in which they were participating, another farce was taking place at the near coffee-selling vending machine, where Shizuru was cheerfully chatting-up a young police officer.

"A… I… Did… did we mishear you, Kuga-san?" ventured Aoi, being the first one of the three stunned students, who had been able to retrieve the ability to use and apply the knowledge of the legendary communicative skills, which seemed to escape her two friends.

"Are you people deaf, or something?" Natsuki irately crossed her arms. "Do you see any cops around?"

After a brief survey of the area, three heads nodded, indicating that they had spotted the police officer, who was engrossed in a cheerful conversation with the president.

"Then what are you still doing _here_?"

Not wanting to be left behind in such a dire situation and really at a loss at ideas, Mai, Aoi and Chie hurriedly caught up to the already marching towards the car Natsuki.

"Mai-kun, I still can't figure out what's happening, but right now it's going to be safest to stick with Kuga-san, I presume?" shakily adjusted her spectacles the gossip queen, nervously observing how Natsuki unceremoniously opened the car's door and motioned for them to get in the back seat.

"I don't think we'll be able to do anything on our own in this situation, Chie-chan," sadly admitted Mai, climbing obediently into the car. Her two classmates followed without a word of protest, ushered by the impending danger of being caught between the all too violent and excessive brawl.

The last one to jump into the vehicle was the informal leader of the group, who immediately busied herself with the wires underneath the steering-wheel. Being a knowledgeable high school girl, she was able to bring the engine to life in the matter of no more than half a minute.

The noise of the starting of the car didn't go unnoticed by its rightful owner, who could no longer be swooned by the magnificent skills of the Fujino Shizuru. The girl could only smile amusedly at the panicked reaction of the young man and quickly left her spot to go to another big street, which was parallel to this one.

In the rear mirror Mai could see the form of the graceful school-idol disappear in an alley. But right now her concern was the officer, who was running after them, waving his arms frantically for them to stop and surrender. They were speedily moving in the opposite direction, from which the black vehicles were coming from.

"What an idiot," she heard Natsuki saying. "He has a gun, why isn't he using it, like he's supposed to?"

"Don't go around giving the universe ideas, Kuga-san," remarked Chie, who had reverted to her playful nature, much to Mai's surprise.

Natsuki picked up the radio microphone from the car's panel and handed it to Aoi with an expression demanding immediate submission.

"You like to talk, tell the people to go to the subway and get the hell out of here," she commanded, her hands gripping the wheel, eyes fixed on the road, driving straight towards the other incoming gang, the police officer left forgotten behind them.

Aoi did as told and announced the evacuation plan in a strangely calm and collected voice.

"To all of Fuuka's citizens, this is the police speaking! Please proceed to the subway or any personal vehicles and evacuate the premises at once! There is a danger of terrorist attack! We repeat, evacuate immediately!"

Mai was surprised how natural it came to Aoi this whole announcement and how her voice didn't waver or give out the fact that she was scared and confused. Her appearance was the complete opposite of the impression of composure and authority her announcement as the 'police's speaker' she was giving the now cautious citizens. The ones in the stolen car noticed that the people were actually listening to what Aoi had declaimed, not having a speck of suspicion towards the authorities of Fuuka.

'Strange,' Mai thought, 'since they know that the police are in reality doing next to nothing to protect them. They probably didn't notice the gang's vehicles in the first place. Honestly, if they aren't told what to look for, they would probably ignore what's going on around them!'

Suddenly the car took a sharp turn, causing the three girls on the backseat to shove one another involuntarily. Aoi clutched the microphone and managed somehow to muffle the sounds of disgruntle, coming from her two classmates. Finally daring to open her eyes, Mai concluded that they had taken a turn in order to enter the street, where at its left was standing a smiling girl, waiting patiently for them.

Natsuki slowed down, but didn't stop the vehicle, only stretching her arm to open the door, through which the student council president was supposed to jump in. When the car closed in on her, her stance changed into a more crouched one, indicating that she was ready to act.

The four girls clearly didn't expect the swiftness with which the loved-by-all student leapt inside the patrol car, closing quickly the door behind her. Even the Natsuki's mouth was slightly agape, pointing towards her ignorance towards the physical capabilities of her so called best friend, who was admiring with well hidden pride the effect of her accomplishment on her underclassmen.

"Natsuki had better keep her eyes on the road, as much as I am pleased by her attention," she jested sweetly, in utter contrast to what the situation was demanding.

Silently retrieving her cool, Natsuki turned her eyes once again on the road, careful not to cause a traffic accident. She had obviously intended to slow down more or even stop, but her friend had prevented such inconveniences.

It was not that she was afraid of being caught after a crash inside a stolen police car, but she was troubled by the fact that this whole venture would be all for naught if they weren't able to escape.

"So… Kuga-san?" Chie willed herself to speak, quietly, while her unofficial girlfriend was giving evacuation instructions through the car's loudspeaker, in case some people had been left behind uninformed. There weren't any they could spot at the current moment, at least.

"Yeah?" came the husky confirmation that Natsuki was indeed listening and was intending to give an answer, instead of staying silent.

"What do we do now?" deadpanned the gossip queen, voicing Mai's own thoughts.

"Specify what you want to know," Natsuki didn't even bother to make eye contact with the person she was conversing with, motioning for Shizuru to turn on the little board computer. The latter had done that and was now placing the microphone, which Aoi had returned, in its place.

"We stole a police car, made the people evacuate and are now on the run from both the gangs and the authorities," explained her frustration Chie, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Same thing."

"What?"

"The authorities and the gangs are the same thing. Just using different names for the public," replied the driver with obvious reluctance.

"How do you know that?" asked Aoi. Mai silently observed, not wanting to interfere in the conversation, drawn by the opportunity to learn more than she already knew.

"I just do, don't pry," Natsuki was lightly shoved in the side by her companion on the front seat. "What, you want to know, too?"

'President Fujino doesn't know, as well?' Mai discovered with wonder. A pout appeared on a pair of perfect full lips and the Kyoto-ben resounded through the compartment.

"Yes, I do. It's high time Natsuki told me. Is it Yamada-han?"

"Yeah, it's him. He's quite reliable when it comes to money and info. Anyways, we're going to get away, dispose of the car and go back to campus. We most probably won't be caught, since that guy didn't really see us and even if he has called the HQ, they cannot come until the whole ordeal is over."

"I suppose we're not going to drive through one of the gangs, though?" spoke Mai at last, remembering the card they had been shown by Peter and Clarisa. They were driving towards one of the criminal groups and even though the buildings were partly obstructing their vision, they could hear the engines of the approaching vehicles.

"We don't have much of a choice."

"What do you mean, Natsuki?"

"Well, both of the gangs were moving in a formation, conductive to circling the centre of the battlefield, in other words the area around the centre of Fuuka."

"What you're saying is that we're already trapped from all sides?" worry etched on their faces, as Aoi's question was left unanswered.

"You saw them, Mai. You could most likely imagine that it's near impossible for us to get away unnoticed."

"Should I ask if you have a plan, or would it be pointless to question your genius?" sorely asked Mai, looking out the window at the emptying streets. She had been caught up once again in those 'gang affairs'; she was blaming Natsuki for this time's misadventure.

"Asking would be needless, as always. You already know," cockily replied Natsuki, who hit the breaks, causing the other girls to grip whatever they could to prevent themselves fly out through the front windows. A nervous smile played on her lips, as she gazed at the row of four jeeps, moving towards them in a way, blocking the street.

"Ara, has Natsuki prepared adequately for her scheme?" Shizuru licked her dried lips, anticipating the other's answer.

"Lady Luck has yet to fail me," Natsuki smirked, as she opened the throttles full-force, making the tires screech and speeding towards the four cars, before taking a sharp turn up a narrow concrete road, designated as one leading to an above-ground car park.

"How do you know to drive like this?" shouted Chie, who was hugging Aoi, both of them at the verge of tears, while Mai looked with a blank expression ahead, refusing to believe that she was destined to die in a car-crash.

"I play simulator games every day."

"That doesn't sound reassuring!"

"At all!"

"I haven't seen a wheel joystick at Natsuki's apartment, though."

"Is that your problem?"

"Well, I do pride myself with my observation skills…"

"I think that you should rearrange your priorities! You people are messed up!"

"Harada-han shouldn't draw conclusions from such unimportant facts."

"It's important the moment my life starts to depend on it, president!"

"Ah, a wall…"

"Mai-san, are you okay?"

"Oh, we didn't hit it…"

"Snap out of it, Mai-san!"

The screech of breaks once again filled the air and Mai snapped out of her blissful state of self-reassurance that this whole ordeal was simply a bad dream, from which she would awake soon.

Blinking a few times and clearing the mist from her lilac eyes, she looked through the front window of the police car. Through it she saw the sky, only a few clouds scattered across its blue vastness. A plane cut through one of the white spindrifts, dispersing it mercilessly. Just like they were about to cut through the air, Mai concluded from the frightened expressions on everybody's faces. Except for Natsuki's; she was wearing an expression best described as 'overweening'. The engine roared, thirty meters from the edge of the roof parking lot, overlooking the city.

"Natsuki?" dared to question Shizuru her friend, who was gripping the steering wheel so hard, that her knuckles had gotten whiter than her normal pale complexion. "Is Natsuki intending to attempt one of the stunts she watches in those ridiculously violent American movies she adores so much?"

Mai would've complimented the student council president for her remarkable ability to form inquiries with more words than 'what', 'doing' and 'hell'. If she hadn't been obstructed to do so by the huge lump in her throat, she would have tried, as well.

"What if I am?" the reply provoked a whimper from the still clutching her girlfriend Chie.

"Is Natsuki sure of her capabilities?" a trace of doubt was waved in the accented voice, which caused a frown to appear on the porcelain face of the driver.

"If I was going to endanger you, I wouldn't have bothered coming," Natsuki admitted a bit quieter than usually, staring stiffly ahead. "Besides, if you're worried by the distance, you shouldn't fret. It's another office building, belonging to the same company, so they're practically stuck to one another. Only difference is that the other one's underground exit is the one we need. I've been there, I know how to get to it."

A sigh escaped the lips of the school-idol, who closed her crimson eyes with a content expression and a ghost of a smile. The silent display of trust calmed the nerves of the other three students, who had tensely observed the short conversation. Aoi averted her blue eyes towards the nearest edge of the building and gasped at what she saw.

A sea of vehicles had consumed the street beneath them. Where had all those people come from? Armed men and women, none the less. It seemed that their insignificant police car hadn't drawn the attention of the clear of purpose procession and if they managed to reach the other office building, they would be moving in a direction opposite from the one of the mini-war.

Certainly such a get-away hadn't passed through Mai's mind, who seating in anticipation on the back seat, her arms clung on the back of Natsuki's seat.

"I hate grounds," muttered Mai under her breath.

"Mai-san, it's not that high or far away… Besides, it's fear of 'heights', not the other way around," sweetly corrected her her brown-haired classmate.

"Oh, no, Aoi-chan, the grounds come faster towards you than the heights. Gravity is a habit, which is very hard to shake off," she darkly chuckled.

"Here we go," announced Natsuki, letting go of the hand-break she had been holding, causing the vehicle to jerk forward in a motion, making its passengers press their backs to the plush seats.

'If there is a great deity somewhere up there, please send this insufferable woman to the deepest pits of the Purgatory, if she manages to kill us,' a peaceful look passed over Mai's face, as she closed her eyes, already feeling the unpleasant sensation in her gut, telling her they were airborne. It was true that the distance from one building to the other wasn't much, but it still seemed like hours to the five girls. Their ears went deaf, they stopped breathing, expecting the impact of the tires with the concrete roof of the other car park.

What came before the landing, though, caused everyone to turn at the direction of the downtown, as if the whole scene was playing out in slow motion. They felt an invisible force toss them a bit from their original trajectory. Crimson tongues of flame licked the skies after the thunderous explosion and a flash of blinding light had relieved Fuuka of its grey monotony.

Being too distracted with the mighty blast, they didn't brace themselves for the rough grounding the car made and the additional collision on its rear with another metal vehicle didn't help their situation much. A moment of silent contemplation passed before Shizuru's voice commanded them to scramble before their own car exploded.

As if on miracle the car's trunk had accepted the shock of the impact and the passengers weren't that much affected by that last incident. The police car didn't explode. Since her door had been bent in, Mai had to make a get-away through the one Chie and Aoi had used, causing her to tumble over one of their legs in her hurry, resulting in her rough close meeting face-to-face with the excruciatingly hard ground.

'Did I mention I hate grounds?' she thought self-pityingly. Two pair of arms helped her up and she heard Chie letting out a gasp of initial shock. Through her teary eyes she could still make up the flames, painting the city red.

"Isn't that where the subway is?" whispered the gossip queen. Mai hoped she was wrong, but doubted it, since Chie hardly ever made mistakes about any piece of information.

"Was," rasped Natsuki, who was next to Shizuru, both of them crouching on the concrete.

"Oh, God…" Aoi sank to her knees, staring helplessly at the direction, from which the rudiments of a gun-fight could be heard.

For the moment they had forgotten that they had to make their own escape, every one of them buried deep in their own thoughts or helplessly lost in them.

* * *

Glossary:

*Grand slam - a contract to win all thirteen tricks. Bidding and making a grand slam scores significant bonus points.

**Dummy - 1) the partner of the declarer, whose cards are placed face up on the table and played by the declarer. Dummy has few rights and may not participate in choices concerning the play of the hand; 2) the dummy's hand as exposed on the table.

***The dummy player places their cards on the table, so that the declarer can play with them.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Hello! And Happy New Year! Never mind that ten days have passed already... I'm terribly sorry for the late update, but guess what. Come on. You can't? Really? Well (haha), let me tell you then. This story now has a Beta! Stand on your feet and start cheering for Crosswood - an irreplaceable Beta Reader! Honestly, she's awesome. As awesome as awesomeness itself. No, really. I'm so excited. _**

**_So! Now the narration has a slightly different feel to it, if you know what I mean. I hope the change is for better and you people like it ^^ Because I sure do - everything seems to flow so nice... Did I mention that Crosswood is super ultra special awesome? I did? Well, that's 'cuz she is! (hooray for references) _**

**_If you have anything you wish to share, don't hesitate to do so. I love feedback ^o^_**

**Disclaimer: Mai-HiME - not mine.**

* * *

"Weren't we going back to school?"

Mai was determined; she was going to break the grim atmosphere that had hung over the group for the past half an hour. They were all sitting silently in Natsuki's apartment, staring idly at things they deemed interesting. Well - all except for the owner. Natsuki was sitting cross-legged on the floor, going through her possessions in the living room. Each was inspected closely before being thrown into one of two large piles; it looked like she was sorting somehow, but Mai saw no logic in how each item was being picked.

"We're not going back to school," stated Natsuki, "because I need to gather up my things." She turned to fumble with a thick folder. There was no hint that there had ever been other any other people in the dwelling; Peter and Clarisa had disappeared without a trace. Mai sneaked a glance towards the other three girls. President Fujino was perfectly composed, as always; she stared out of the window, hands clasped behind her straightened back. Chie's and Aoi's eyes were a shade duller than previously, Mai noted with sadness. The earlier events had taken their toll on the two normal high school girls. Wait… what was she thinking? She was normal, as well, right? Well… she had been… at least until all of _that_ had happened.

Mai turned her attention back to the subject at hand "So… why do we need to get your stuff?"

Mai stood from her place and moved behind Natsuki's back, peeking at the folder, which was immediately shut. Natsuki turned to scowl at her.

'Oh, progress!' noted Mai.

"I'm getting out of this apartment."

"And where will Natsuki be going?" rang the melodious voice of Shizuru.

"Mai's."

Everyone paused, then a foot swung out of nowhere to firmly plant on Natsuki's face.

"Oh, no, you won't!" protested the future roommate, shoving a little. Natsuki lost her balance and fell in a heap of limbs on the carpeted ground. Mai continued to glare daggers, which Natsuki ignored in favour of rubbing her probably hurt nose.

"You didn't have to go and kick me!" she protested in a rare display of childish pouting. Natsuki glared accusingly up at Mai, who was standing fuming above her, feet braced in a threatening pose.

"Oh, you're right about that!" Mai snapped, "It was an entirely voluntary act on my part! I didn't feel any obligation. What do you mean 'you'll be living with me'?"

"Exactly that." Natsuki growled. "I can't stay here any longer! That bastard is driving me mad… I need to move to a place where he can't reach, and the only place that fits the bill is campus. Fuuka School is like an impenetrable fortress."

Chie perked up, interested. She casually leaned towards the intriguing conversation.

"Kuga-san seems pretty knowledgeable on the subject," Chie hinted. This attempt was shamelessly ignored; which made Chie pout. She had her ego to think of – her pride as the most reliable information gatherer around. Mai's mind raced to think of another solution.

"Why not move with president Fujino, then?" nagged Mai. She knew full well Shizuru was a far closer friend to Natsuki than she had ever been.

"No can do." Those midnight tresses shook in denial.

"Huh?" Mai's state of anger prevented her from using more complicated sentence structures; her scowl, however, effectively conveyed her message.

"Shizuru lives on the same floor as that bulldog," casually replied Natsuki, getting up from the floor. "It would be impossible." Heading to her room, she pulled out an already half-full backpack; a few pieces of clothing hung out from it.

"You mean Suzushiro-senpai?" Mai frowned heavily. "If you didn't give her reasons to be suspicious, she'll just leave her alone!"

Mai was sure that if Shizuru had been more ill mannered, she would probably have sneered at her naiveté. Instead the president restricted herself (when she replied in her friend's place) to a short phrase, the truth of which made everybody fall silent in agreement.

"This is Haruka-han we are talking about, Mai-han."

Not even Mai could argue with this.

There was a pregnant silence. "Okay," the stressed ex-maid groaned. "Why me, then? Can't you stay with somebody else?"

"No." Natsuki said again. "You're already involved - you already know too much about me. And your ramen is delicious."

Mai sighed, defeated. "You may think you're smart, but you're pretty simple-minded, you know." There really was no helping it and besides, what harm could possibly befall them if they were safe at the campus?

"So Kuga-san is going to live with us mortals, then?" A hint of a scheming glint peeked out from behind Chie's glasses. Aoi and Mai felt a chill come from the gossip queen's direction.

'I have a bad feeling about this,' Aoi thought helplessly, but she could only look fearfully ahead to the future. The future stared right back at her with the promise of an exciting second semester.

* * *

Living with Natsuki really wasn't actually that much trouble, Mai concluded after two weeks of hosting her. The girl paid her rent (yes, Mai had been cruel enough to make her pay, since thanks to her Mai had lost serious income) and didn't hinder her daily errands or life. Natsuki did require attention, but it was different from the type that Mikoto demanded.

Natsuki came home only at the last possible moment before the curfew, was as private as she the small dorm would allow, and rarely spoke about things involving school. She rarely spoke about anything, for that matter. Natsuki did seem to care about her new roommate, though - once she had even warned her not to go at the east part of town, since she expected there to be another fight in that area.

"But even so," murmured Aoi, tired from the exams. Mai's thoughts snapped back to the present. "I'm still quite shaken about the stuff downtown two weeks ago. How is Kuga-san coping, since it was she that instructed those people to go there?"

"Can't really say," admitted Mai to her classmates. They were in recess and had decided to stay inside the classroom, instead of going out in the heat. It was almost time for the summer break and all the students were anticipating it with eagerness.

"We didn't talk about it after that day," she continued thoughtfully, before scrunching her brows. "She probably doesn't care much, though. I would be surprised if there was even a trace of sympathy in that person."

"She hired you after losing your job and saved your life. What makes you think that?" wondered Chie, looking through the photos on her phone.

Naturally, after the fights, Mai had told both Chie and Aoi about her incident at one of Hazard's gaming rooms and that Natsuki had hired her as her maid. Chie's response had been to joke about Natsuki's 'maid fetish', and to ask searching questions about it. Mai had denied everything vigorously, which naturally did not help her case at all.

This did not change the fact that the girls were now involved with the whole 'gang' business - but Natsuki had clearly stated that she didn't want to talk more about it.

"She used me, Chie-chan… she used Takumi as well. I don't think I'll ever forgive her." Mai admitted to her two friends. Seeing the distress her friend displayed at the mere thought of being betrayed, Aoi changed the topic of the conversation.

"By the way, Mai-chan, I heard from a little cat that you'll be on a date with Tate-kun tonight too." The sweet smile Aoi sent her made her smile back, even though mostly this was to cover her urge to twitch. She really had to talk to Mikoto later.

"Yes, Mai-kun, you're a steady couple now, right?" Slyly joined Chie, eager to know more. "What about Kanzaki Reito-san, hmm?"

"Uhm, yes… well, we talked and I told him it wouldn't work… and that I like Yuuichi. As a matter of fact, I need to get going! I have to prepare for the date!" Mai abruptly stood up and gathered her her haste she was gone before her classmates could point out that they still had a few more classes before the end of the school day.

* * *

She still didn't feel comfortable talking about her relationship with Tate Yuuichi. Mai knew she had a problem in Shiho, and was ashamed to admit that she didn't know what to do about the meddlesome girl. It was already taking all her control to keep her cool in front of the hostile middle-schooler, who in return was doing everything in her power to ruin romantic moments.

Being engrossed in these thought, Mai paid little attention to her surroundings on entering the dorm. When the sleeper finally caught her attention, therefore, she almost dropped her books in shock. Natsuki was sprawled out on the wooden table fast asleep, her hair sprayed out across the surface breathing lightly. Mai rarely saw Natsuki at home, much less home in broad daylight, and for her to be asleep was unprecedented.

It was the first time she had witnessed that distant person let her guard down, but that thought was quickly qualified by the realisation that it was not intentional. The papers lying on the table looked like some of the blueprints she had seen earlier at Natsuki's former apartment. Mai knew nothing about them, not even from which angle they were designed to be read. Natsuki had told her not to pry. It was probably for the best she didn't know.

Her motherly nature quickly gained the upper hand over curiosity, and she grabbed a blanket from a bed with the intention of throwing it over the sleeper's arm brushed accidentally Natsuki's left shoulder on the throw, and Mai was hard-pressed to stifle a startled scream in her throat. Pale, merciless fingers had wrapped around her wrist, and blurry emerald eyes pierced her with unhidden enmity.

"N-Natsuki," she croaked. Her shaken voice served to wake up the groggy rebel who released her at once, as if surprised by her own actions. Mai took a step back, clutching her arm close to her chest.

"Oh, it's just you," huffed the other girl, running a hand through her slightly dishevelled hair. Ignoring the less than effusive greeting she had just received, Mai fixed her attention on the appearance of her new roommate.

Dark circles lived under her eyes, her dark hair had lost its usual shine, and the piercing eyes held the look of a wounded wild animal.

"You… look tired." Mai concluded, earning a dark chuckle in response.

"Nice one, Captain Obvious." Came the mocking reply, without any attempt at denying weakness.

"Is it because of that accident?" Mai swallowed, not wanting to remind even herself. According to the news, they had unknowingly sent around eighty people to their untimely death. It was truly a tragedy, and even though she had told Aoi and Chie that the ruthless Ice Princess probably didn't care, she had silently believed that was not true. Obviously, she had been right in that.

Natsuki didn't respond, instead turning her head towards the blueprints. After a brief last observation, she gathered them up carefully, shuffled them into an order, then put them away. Her hands trembled while leafing through the large sized papers. Mai couldn't help herself. She reached for Natsuki, kneeled by her side and lightly gripped the other girl's upper arm.

"What's wrong? Why are you so tired? Aren't you supposed to be the aloof and uncaring individual you try to pass yourself as?" Mai voice rose into a kind of half shout, openly startling her new roommate. "Are the voices of all those people getting in the way of your rest? Do they haunt your nightmares, like they do mine?"

Natsuki unconsciously licked her dried lips, staring at Mai with wide green eyes. Mai's own lilac held a demand. There was a slight pause.

"I didn't know that you felt responsible about something that didn't concern you." Natsuki said slowly. The reply was a slap the speed of a lightning. It hurt like lightning, too.

"Answer me! I just revealed part of my soul to you!"

Mai literally shook with rage, truly outraged that the biker thought of her as not feeling guilt.

"Your mind isn't as complicated as you think, Mai." drawled Natsuki, expecting (and, unsurprisingly, receiving) another slap. This one fell on the other cheek.

"You're horrible!" Mai shouted with all the whole power of her prodigious lungs. She received back a knowing look. Why was this wretched person taunting her? Tears filled her eyes, threatening to tumble down her cheeks. Natsuki's next words, however, stopped them cold.

"Yeah. I do hear them." Natsuki looked at Mai evenly. "The fuckers are screaming so damn loud I can't close my eyes for a second without them bothering me. It's a hindrance, really. Almost as bad as your nagging."

"You… do care, don't you?" swallowed Mai, releasing the other girl's arm.

"No, not really. I told you," tired green eyes closed, "it's a nuisance. Not letting me sleep because they blame me. Those idiots." Her bland expression flickered, revealing stark torment. Those vibrant eyes reopened to look at Mai, curious but unconcerned. "What, you not going to hit me?"

"Just stop it already." whispered Mai, letting her hand drop to her side, eyes filled with accusations.

"I'm not doing anything." Natsuki lifted her brow in defiance. There was a silence.

"Why are you always pushing people away?" the other girl asked, finally able to vocalise what had been bothering her since the beginning of their conversation. "Why are you acting so distant towards the ones who care?"

"Why shouldn't I? Other people always hurt. I won't trust them with my personal…"

"Can't you see how much _you_ hurt _them_? Fujino-san is evidently trying her best to befriend you and you just… disregard her kindness and good intentions."

"Yeah… Shizuru." An emotion nearing nostalgia swam in green eyes, looking through Mai and into the dreamscape of memory. "She's probably the only one, who…"

Natsuki drifted off in silence, her sentence trailing off, again unwilling to share with her roommate. The latter opened her mouth in an attempt to say something, but found no suitable words, so finally gave up and just waited. It wasn't long to wait before Natsuki woke up from wherever she had gone, shaking her were pierced by clear emeralds.

"She cannot be involved with me. She shouldn't be put in jeopardy. She needs to stay safe. She must." Natsuki scowled heavily, but Mai realized that the anger was not directed at her, but at all the dangers which could potentially reach the student council president.

"She's smart enough to know the risks, Natsuki. Fujino-san still seeks your friendship. This should be say something to you!" reasoned Mai.

"I don't know if I'd be able to live with myself if something happened to Shizuru, Mai," finally admitted Natsuki, looking nothing like herself. She had focused her gaze intently on the floor, and her hands were balled into fists. Shoulders slumped under the weight of known and unknown problems and dilemmas.

Mai stifled a gasp. So Natsuki was actually as she had hoped – the famous Ice Princess wasn't uncaring. Cold and aloof, yes, but still an individual who was capable of forming bonds with other human beings. It had somehow not occurred to her that the mysterious young woman was simply a troubled teenager, very much like everybody their age. Before she could reach out to her roommate, though, Natsuki's behaviour abruptly hardened.

"You're going to be late for your date," she drawled out, returning to normal in both speech and posture.

Mai started, puzzled. _She probably feels that she's revealed too much of herself… that's why she's changing the topic. Well, I won't be that easily… wait. What? _

"You're right!" Mai frantically looked at the clock on her desk, realising how late it was. If she didn't begin to prepare now she would definitely be late.

She flew herself to the bathroom door and bolted inside. A single moment of peace reigned. Then that moment was over – Mai's head popped back out, staring at Natsuki in incomprehension.

"How did you know?"

Natsuki smiled. "Mikoto's been fuming about it since before she left. She in love with you, or something?"

"No," Mai blushed unwillingly. "She just thinks that I'll stop paying attention to her if I get a boyfriend and that I won't prepare her meals anymore."

"…I see."

According to the expression Natsuki sent after a retreating Mai, she really didn't.

* * *

"Why did you have to drag me along as well? We're not best friends just because you think we had a tear-jerking moment," grumbled Natsuki, reluctantly tagging along to the start-point for Mai's date. The girl in question laughed sheepishly, adjusting her hair fretfully.

"Because I'm sort of nervous, and you were the only person available," she replied, in a solid attempt at a light-hearted manner. Natsuki sighed and drew her palm over her face in an act of frustration.

"You don't fool me. You're just scared since this is your first date ever and you have no idea what to do. Why? Do you expect other things to come after kissing and hugging?" Natsuki's comment crushed Mai's laugh, leaving it stillborn in her throat.

"I hate it when you do that," Mai said, crestfallen. The faintest shade of a smile still lingered on her face though, however broken it might have been. A few people on the street turned their heads to look at them, intrigued.

"What? Seem oblivious but then turn out to be absolutely right about what you're thinking or feeling?" tiredly asked Natsuki, staring directly ahead, her hands stuffed in her uniform jacket's pockets.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Nah… you're doing a pretty good job yourself. Besides, do you see me laughing?"

"…you're horrible." muttered Mai.

They'd reached the meeting place, but Yuuichi wasn't there yet. It had been his suggestion that they go to a new movie; the one chosen featured the famous young film star Anh Lu, and was a high-school romantic drama. Mai had been looking forward to it, but mostly for the actress – the plot revolved around a scandalous love affair between a teacher and his student.

"Looks like he's still not here." Natsuki said, indifferently. "I'm going to get myself a coke from the vending machine in front of that department store." Natsuki tried to stalk away, but found that hard with a whining Mai suddenly attached to her arm.

"Don't leave me alone!" she begged, clinging to her roommate. Natsuki was busy throwing murderous looks at people around them, who were shamelessly staring. They looked exactly like a quarrelling couple.

"Let me go!"

"I don't want to. You're right, I'm scared!"

"Come with me then!" Natsuki ground out, ignoring the gasps of the old ladies coming out of the store with their food-filled plastic bags.

"Young girls these days!" Mai heard one of them whisper, before realising how the whole scene could look to those not knowing the surrounding circumstances.

She stumbled back, letting go of Natsuki's arm. The other girl was regarding her with a truly glacial glare, and was blushing furiously, but whether from rage or embarrassment Mai didn't she could apologize - or say anything for that matter - she was once again granted the sight of Natsuki's back, midnight tresses swaying, retreating into the department store. Mai quickly followed, not wishing to be left standing there like a fool.

"Could you get me a soda?" she requested sweetly, arms clasped in front her and a smile on her lips.

"You're seriously starting to irritate me. Get one yourself. I'm not your girlfriend," snarled Natsuki, not looking at her for a moment. She took her coke from the machine, popped it open and thirstily drank.

"I'm sorry. I forgot my wallet," Mai admitted, embarrassed.

Natsuki had just started to reply crossly when Mai was abruptly distracted. Lilac eyes now looked at a blond boy quarrelling with a middle-school-aged girl. The girl's hair was in four strangely shaped pig-tails, and both of them were standing in front of the crowded entrance of the cinema. Mai didn't even notice when Natsuki stopped talking also started to look puzzled. Both stared mutely at Yuuichi and Shiho.

"What's Tate doing with that little pest?" Natsuki inquired rudely to no-one in particular. Mai didn't answer. Her mouth was hanging open, gaping at the scene unfolding before her.

The traffic light for the pedestrians flashed green and she started walking, dazed.

Her foot stepped on the zebra crossing. Shiho slapped Yuuichi and started running away. Another step. He chased after her, both of them disappearing behind a corner. Another step, followed by another and another. She broke into a full-out sprint, forgetting that she was wearing uncomfortable high-heels or that her skirt was not fit for running. As if in a trance, turned the corner as well, Natsuki effortlessly following.

Mai stopped, rooted to the ground, swallowing hard against the tears that threatened to pour to the pavement.

The main lane of one of the city's parks began where the small street ended, and there stood Yuuichi and Shiho; the boy was embracing the girl from behind, saying something. Mai whimpered as the younger girl cupped her 'bother's' cheeks and planted a firm, hungry kiss on his mouth. He seemed surprised, but didn't make any move to pull away.

"You bastard! What do you think you're doing?" Mai trembled at the power of that wrathful war-cry - it came from behind her. The roar shoved her out of her nightmarish internal shock and she raised her palm to cover her mouth. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. When had she started crying?

She blurrily witnessed as her roommate practically flew at the two, who immediately let each other go. It sincerely looked like Natsuki was going to pummel Tate, but Shiho jumped in front of him before the first swing, her arms spread wide.

"I won't let you hurt brother!" she shouted defiantly, shivering under the blazing emeralds that threaten to reduce her to ashes. Tate stood, petrified, behind her… before a bout of manliness prompted him to throw his arms around the small girl. He attempted to glare back.

"Get out of my way!" demanded Natsuki, rolling her sleeves up to her elbow. The middle-schooler swallowed hard, but didn't budge.

"No!" she stated firmly, despite visibly shrinking before the raging Ice Princess.

"You asked for it!" Natsuki raged again, raising her fist. She was stopped from inflicting any damage, however, by a falsetto exclamation from Tate. "You're going to hit a girl?"

He resorted to pushing Shiho out of Natsuki's way. His attempts to prove himself a tough-guy were unimpressive, not even to himself. It seemed that the girl with the pig-tails didn't notice the boy's strong desire for her to get out of harm's way, however, so she continued pushing forward towards her early death.

Natsuki growled ferociously. "Get lost! You've nothing to do with this!" Her teeth were gritted and her jaw tight.

"Isn't it you that's got nothing to do with this?" came the logical reply from the startled, frightened Tate. Even Shiho had fallen silent at the exchange, and simply stared incredulously, her mouth agape.

In the name of not being caught presumptuously rushing into a fight that didn't really involve her directly, Natsuki turned to fume at her roommate.

"Aren't you going to say something? Isn't he your boyfriend?" she snarled at Mai, who was standing, motionless. Mai's arm fell limply to her side; she no longer attempted to hide her tears. Her lips trembled. The other three fell completely silent.

"I… I don't care… about him."

Surprise bloomed all over the others' faces. Where she found the strength to turn around and walk away with her back straight they didn't know, but she did – proud and dignified. This lasted back around the corner, out of sight, before she broke into a run, sprinting home towards the dorms of Fuuka.

* * *

"Leave me alone!"

"No."

"I'm not unlocking this door! I'm not letting anyone inside!"

"Open the god damn door! I live here too!" Natsuki's angry hammering on the wooden door, and the deafening shouts, were starting to attract attention towards their room's entrance.

A few moments of silence followed and a quiet click was heard, signalling that the lock was no longer obstructing Natsuki's entrance. Some of the curious students whistled encouragingly, others clapped and laughed, urging Kuga to enter and cheer her girlfriend up. Grumbling and glaring, the disgruntled Ice Princess slammed the door behind her, shutting off Mai and herself from the noise outside.

The latter was curled up in a ball on her bed, her clothes still on, clutching a pillow to her face. Muffled, anguished sobs came from her shaking form.

"Mikoto's sleeping at her brother's, right?" Natsuki asked, evenly. Even the strange question wasn't able to surprise Mai enough to make her she made something close to a nod.

Natsuki nodded back. "Okay."

Behind the veil of her breakdown, the busty teenager's calm side heard her roommate enter the bathroom. Some minutes later soft steps hinted that Natsuki had walked to the bed beside her. The lights were flicked off, and the shuffling of bed sheets followed. In contrast to her own ragged gasps, she could make out Natsuki's even breathing. No other sound escaped her new roommate. Mai felt weirdly cheated.

"Natsuki?" she whispered, swallowing her tears and her pride.

"Hmn?" came the sleepy retort.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"…like what?"

"Like something to say."

Mai tried to calm herself down by turning on her back and staring through watery eyes at her darkened lamp.

"Oh, right. Didn't know you felt that way about that kind of stuff."

_Stuff? _She lifted her brow in inquiry, even though she knew that the other girl couldn't see her.

"Good night, Mai."

"… … … what?"

Mai jumped upright, her fists clutching the fabric of her sheets.

"What do you mean 'what'?" came the drowsy and annoyed demand. Natsuki sounded half-asleep already.

"No words of consolation? Nothing to tell me to help me overcome the crisis of my broken heart?" screeched Mai, confusion replaced with a mad mania to suffocate the other girl with a pillow.

"Not really," huskily replied Natsuki, now more awake after the painful experience of having been screamed at.

"You're a terrible friend," deadpanned Mai and plopped herself back on her messy bed. She pulled her blanket over her head and silently cursed her roommate to hell.

"Say… Mai," came that quiet voice. It almost gave her hope that she was going to be able to pour all of her hate out.

"Yes?" she wistfully asked, praying that her earlier comment had managed to somehow cause an internal struggle and/or feeling of remorse in the other teen.

"I'm thinking of creating a gang."

"Don't worry about it. And yes, he's a total jerk. I can't believe he… wait. What?"

"Don't shout! Jeez… you're so overly-emotional."

"I wonder why?" she managed in reply, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Just forget that guy, he's a loser anyways. I'm talking about something more important," Natsuki murmured calmly, soothingly, as if to a three-year-old. Mai gripped her hair painfully.

"Why?" she asked shortly, it being the only question she really wished answered. Why did Yuuichi do that to her? Why did it hurt her that much? Why was her new friend having such idiotic thoughts?

"Simply put; this city sucks. I'm sick and tired of having to play by someone else's rules," Natsuki said through a yawn. "You'll be helping me, by the way. Since you won't be distracted by stupid romance and other shit like that."

"Sure, do whatever you want," spoke Mai, thickly. She was exhausted from all the crying and simply didn't care that she had agreed to become an under-aged criminal. She had her own worries, and wasn't capable of processing other people's babblings. Not tonight.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Hi there! Welcome to the next chapter of "Total Number of Tricks", brought to you by the unbelievably cool beta Crosswood and, of course, yours truly. Now, I want to thank for the feedback I received - I'm extremely grateful to all of the people, who spared time to review. I sincerely hope that I won't disappoint you in the chapters to come, since it was a great enjoyment for me to write them. I'm probably going to fall behind schedule, because of all the papers and tests threatening my humble high-school existence. Of course, I'll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening and continue uploading, even if I have only one reader, who is waiting for a weekly update. Oh, looky here, I reached the lucky thirteenth chapter...  
**_

_**Also, if there are any typos or things, which don't make sense or bother you, please, inform me, so that I can fix the problem. Now, on with the story!**_

**Disclaimer: Mai-HiME is not mine. It pains my heart every time I have to write this.**_**  
**_

* * *

"My, how rare!" Chie exclaimed as another person joined them. She, Aoi, Mikoto and Mai were sitting around their usual cafeteria table.

"More like 'how new'," smiled Aoi. Natsuki, on the receiving end of this smile, rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair.

Mai threw a suspicious glance from behind the rim of her bowl of miso soup. She was sure that this was not simply a friendly courtesy on Natsuki's part. Natsuki caught the glance and Mai almost choked - but instead conveyed a silent inquiry to her roommate. Suffering those hard emotional blows yesterday meant today she only vaguely remembered what had transpired before she had gotten to sleep… although she did remember one word clearly, and the mention of it was surely not a good sign.

"Actually, I want to speak to you guys about something important," confessed Natsuki with a bit of embarrassment. Mai was surprised. Her roommate flicked a lock behind her shoulder, and cleared her throat to gain the girls' attention. She needn't have bothered - even Mikoto was watching her.

"Now that you've been involved in the last big gang incident, and already know more than common people, I've started thinking. I'm thinking about whether it's possible to create a group to prevent those incidents from happening."

Last night's conversation was slowly beginning to return to Mai. "Are you implying what I think you are?"

Natsuki ignored her. "What I'm getting at is, while I'm perfectly able to lead such a group…"

_Oh, you're so modest._ Mai couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"…I can't seem to find the right people. But you guys are different. I can tell. It's about aura, you know? Special individuals. There just aren't many."

She fell silent, intentionally pausing to let the information sink, and for the others to absorb her inference.

"It's just four girls that you're asking," said Mai, flatly, going straight to the point. Her classmates were frowning a bit - but not in disapproval, she noted. Mikoto was as clueless as always.

"I have something in mind in regards to gathering more members, but I need to start off with some reliable people. And before you ask 'why us?', I'll just point out that all of you have different qualities that could be put to use in the name of something bigger.

"For example - Harada, you know everything that's going on in campus. Mikoto can fool anybody into believing that she is not much of a threat, while in reality she's strong and skilled. Senou can befriend almost anybody, and in a combination with Harada, is exceptionally good at information gathering."

"What about me?" inquired Mai curiously, after the flattery-filled recruitment speech ended without mentioning her. Devious emeralds carefully evaluated her.

"Your cooking's nice."

The reply provoked Mai to lift her chopsticks and try to stick them into the 'flatterer's' nose. The manoeuvre was skilfully evaded. Natsuki caught Mai's wrist and glared back, offended by the sudden attack. She obviously thought it was uncalled for.

"Okay, okay! Your cooking is incomparable! Happy?" Natsuki defended herself.

"So all I'm good at is cooking?"

"I did say it's brilliant, didn't I…?"

"You didn't answer my question, though." Mai sweat-dropped, giving up on making her friend understand what the problem was. _Sometimes…_

"So…" Chie interrupted Mai's little self-pitying moment. "Kuga-san is asking us to form a small criminal organization in order to battle big criminal organizations?"

"And the local government," helpfully added Natsuki, nodding her head.

"I see…"

"_What exactly is it that you see?"_ Screeched the transfer student hysterically, drawing attention from the neighbouring tables. Natsuki flinched slightly, regarding her with reproach, before standing up and taking her school-bag.

"I believe we can forge our future ourselves, if we try hard enough, instead of letting some old geezer do it for us. Think about it." She stalked away with half of the cafeteria's occupants throwing looks at her direction, the Ice Princess's appearance at school being that remarkable.

Mikoto's golden eyes shifted curiously between her three unnaturally quiet companions. The middle-schooler was happy in her ignorance. Aoi was fairly sure she was going to disturb that state of mind, but not through any sense of ill-will of course.

"Mikoto-chan… do you think it's alright if we became criminals in order to defeat other criminals?" Aoi instinctively lowered her voice to a hush, even though the clatter in the cafeteria was probably loud enough to drown out sounds with a lower frequency than a police siren.

"If we get to beat up bad people, yes!" The feline-like girl confidently replied, pumping her arm up in the air.

"Is that so," The gossip queen mumbled. Her phone had been forgotten next to her tray with food. "Now that we know about it, can we stay impartial towards injustice?"

Mai frowned. How well she knew that Natsuki was exploiting their sense of guilt to achieve what she wanted! Accepting the offer wasn't the wisest choice for a freshman hoping to have a chance in life. However, she couldn't refuse either, since that would go against her nature.

"I guess we don't have much of a choice, then." She said, generalising all of the things they had left unsaid. They had been once again been tricked.

* * *

Later that day, they all gathered in the dorm room, Shizuru included. Mai noticed with relief that there were only six present, and that Natsuki had chosen to start her plan in a calm, small-scale manner._ …But surely she didn't intend to invite the student council president?_

"So. Did you make up your minds?" Natsuki asked, sitting cross-legged on the throne of her bed.

"Yes, we have," spoke Mai on behalf of her three friends. "We've decided to go along with your idea, because we can't stay passive while knowing things are more wrong than they already look."

This provoked a smirk from Natsuki, and Mai could swear the other girl was doing an inward victory dance. Shizuru merely glanced, intrigued, in her close friend's direction - her crimson eyes mutely requested an explanation.

"Shizuru, I'm… we're going to create a gang." The rebel announced, gazing expectantly at the student council president. The older girl kept smiling, but said nothing. The atmosphere suddenly became heavier. Mai swallowed in anticipation. Nobody dared say anything.

"Could Natsuki repeat what she just said?" Shizuru requested, still smiling.

She's cruel, thought Mai, lilac orbs shifting between Shizuru's eerie smile and the nervous frown of the now slightly sweating Natsuki. For the first time she found herself on her roommate's side, cheering her wordlessly on, wishing that the younger girl's courage would triumph over the terror of the president

"I…" she huskily began.

_Go, Natsuki! _Mai urged silently.

"Yes?" The tyrant asked calmly.

"I plan on creating a gang!" Natsuki blurted out, panting slightly from the effort. Mere mortals could only admire her.

"Is that so?" Shizuru inquired, _still smiling_.

"Yes, and that's why I need your help."

Mai could see that despite her heroic labours to the contrary, Natsuki was fighting the strong desire to fold into a small ball and disappear into nothingness. The situation was so absorbing, she forgot to note that this was the first time she had seen her roommate so obviously scared and losing her cool.

"Whatever might Natsuki require my assistance for?" Shizuru looked to be enjoying the other teenager's convulsions, and her distressed body language.

"A movie."

Whatever she had been expecting, it was plain that the president hadn't seen that reply coming. None of them had.

"Ara… a movie?" Shizuru asked, at long last.

"Yeah," Natsuki rubbed her neck. "You're friends with that Anh girl, aren't you?"

Mai wondered briefly if Natsuki was talking about the young actress Anh Lu… then was surprised to find out that she was correct. Shizuru nodded gracefully, confirming her acquaintance with the girl.

"Well," gamely continued Natsuki, "she's going to promote her new film tomorrow, right?"

Her small audience slowly nodded in complete synchrony.

"And what's bound to be present at the promotion of a movie?" Natsuki smirked, playing a bit with her subordinates and her best friend.

"Terrorist attacks?" ventured Aoi.

"A buffet?" chimed in Mikoto.

"Handsome actors?" Mai said wistfully.

"Spicy news," Chie grinned.

Natsuki looked extremely disappointed. Her expression spoke volumes, and she was clearly asking herself what she had been thinking when she had decided to form a gang with these people.

"What does Natsuki want to accomplish by using the media?" spoke a calm voice. Predictably, the sole intelligent contribution to the conversation had come from Shizuru, and Natsuki's expression brightened, looking at her friend like she was her own personal messiah. At least, so it seemed, one person could follow her.

"We're going to broadcast in the local news that we're declaring war against John Smith." Natsuki triumphantly stated, earning distinctive reactions from her listeners. Even Shizuru looked stunned, which was a mighty achievement, perhaps worthy of a minute of silence.

"Indeed?" Shizuru asked, again the first one to recover. She seemed mildly amused at her friend's odd antics, despite them being a tad bit more eccentric of late. In return, Shizuru got sent an expression nearing a smile, which prompted a somewhat reluctant smile in return. It looked like the full force of the expression was being withheld, however, probably given that she was around people she didn't know.

At that very moment Mai knew that they were in for it, with 'it' consisting of various resourceful methods to end their carefree teenage lives. She sighed. At least now she had something to take her mind off that cheating bastard. She didn't even want to remember his name anymore.

"What are we going to do?" Mai asked, deeply suspicious. It was evident that all of them had some play some part in the whole scenario, but their new leader had yet to inform them what.

Natsuki smirked again, and pulled a book out from under a pile of clothes that were stacked next to her. She turned it towards them, holding it so that they could see what was written on the cover.

"I've marked the pages you four need to read." She gave the book to her red-haired roommate. "I'll tell you what you'll be doing when we get there. But first we'll have to make a few recordings. Chie?"

* * *

Mai fretfully adjusted her skirt, straightening it for the umpteenth time. She was currently simply trying to stay conscious, since the sheer number of fans at the film location threatened to crush her. The pressure increased when Anh Lu's entourage and the actress herself stepped outside of the star's caravan. The actors were supposed to play out a scene from the movie in front of the audience in order to promote the film. Mai noted that numerous media outlets were also there. Her spot at the very front of the crowd meant she could see pretty well what was happening_, _and it was easy to follow the actions of the cast preparing for the the far end, where Anh was sitting in a chair, happily talking to Shizuru, both of them sharing a laugh every now and then. While the actress's attention was drawn by the film director, who was explaining something to her, Shizuru looked up and her eyes met Mai's. The student council president silently motioned for the direction of the toilets and Mai sprang to action. She hoped that no-one had noticed their small interaction, but she highly doubted it, since the fans' attention was glued either on Anh, or the actor who was playing the other main role in the film_. _The crowd was all too eager to let her go to the back, because she freed more space for other rabid admirers to bask in the actor's presence.

After successfully squeezing herself out of the crowd, she let slip an exhausted breath and, without further delay, headed for the toilets. Before she had left her spot, she had seen Shizuru excuse herself from Anh's company, so she was sure that the other would already be waiting for her at the designated spot. She was right.

There was a queue in front of the toilet stalls, a loud group of girls talking and laughing, discussing how the main actor was this and that. Haruka and Yukino were there as well, which gave Mai a fright. She stopped behind Shizuru, who had her back turned on her, but who had tilted her head slightly in order to make eye contact. Mai plastered on a bright smile.

"President Fujino! Suzushiro-san, Kikukawa-san!" She exclaimed, "How unexpected! I didn't know that I'd meet you here."

"Good morning, Tokiha-san." Yukino smiled at her. Haruka only nodded in acknowledgment.

"Good morning, Tokiha-han." Shizuru sang, clasping her hands in front of her before reaching for Mai's and shaking them in a friendly manner. Mai felt a flat, plastic object fall into her palm, and she let it drop inside the long sleeve of her denim jacket. Retrieving her hands, Mai contrived to talk naturally to the older girl.

"I was supposed to meet up with Chie-chan and Aoi-chan somewhere around here, but if I stay any longer, I'll miss the scene…"

Shizuru smiled, and offered her help at once. "I could phone Tokiha-han if I spot either of them, if she wishes."

"That would be really helpful!" Mai faked joy. "Could you mail me your telephone number, so that I'll know who's calling?"

"Certainly." Shizuru took out her mobile telephone and started typing. "What is Tokiha-han's e-mail?"

"Let me input it for you," Mai extended her arm and took the telephone, typing: 'Where is the entrance from which we can enter with this pass?'

She returned the telephone to the other girl, and mere seconds later received mail on her phone. It read: 'Behind Rosalie Claudel's caravan. Only the staff knows about it, they won't suspect a thing ;)'.Mai stifled a chuckle and put her telephone back inside her pocket. She thanked Shizuru gracefully, excused herself from the Executives (an unexpected obstacle), and headed for the meeting point - the location of which they had agreed with Natsuki only that morning. To her surprise, only Chie was in the car park. The gossip queen greeted her with a wave, asking immediately if she had done the job. Mai nodded and swiftly handed her the pass.

"Where's Aoi-chan?" She asked, looking around as if expecting the girl to appear from somewhere. She was rarely seen without Chie, after all.

"Don't know. Kuga-san abducted her earlier today, after giving me this note and telling me to open it when I met with you." Chie held out a piece of paper and opened it, letting both of them look.

"'Text me the place and we'll do a Scissors coup* right away,'" Mai read out loud. They shared a look of puzzlement, wondering what exactly Natsuki meant, but decided to act instead of wasting more time. After all, they had read the pages of the book which had been given to them, so they had a pretty good clue as to what was going to happen. Kind of. It only took a matter of seconds for Chie to send the location to their new leader. Since their current location was right under Rosalie Claudel's window (and through that window were flying different kinds of flowers and gifts) they had the option to pry, but (with much reluctance on Chie's part) that urge was defeated. Instead they went to the entrance, where a fidgeting member of the staff was standing guard.

When they got closer, they recognized (with much surprise) that the guard was Aoi, wearing the official blue cap, spandex and jacket. Her eyes were flickering nervously, looking for something, and when she spotted Mai and Chie she visibly calmed down - and even attempted to smile.

"What's going on?" Chie asked her 'secret' girlfriend.

"Kuga-san got us in… She… Somehow she was able to knock out the guard, who was stationed here and drag him inside Claudel-san's caravan. She told me that since I had been serving as the bait for the guy… Oh, don't look at me like that, Chie-chan! Anyway, I had to change into his clothes. Ah, there he goes."

Aoi directed their attention towards the window, from where the flowers had been flying from. The beautiful plants had been replaced by a middle-aged man, struggling to escape through the narrow opening, obviously scared out of his mind. He didn't even notice that he had an audience, as he finally squeezed himself free and dashed away, clad only in his boxers. Some angry, vulgar curses followed, clearly from a woman's mouth. Aoi continued to speak as if nothing had happened.

"Anyway, the other guard's coming - show him the pass, Chie-chan, so that you can legitimately go in and move about freely. Mai-chan, you're to remain outside and observe what's going on through the big TV screen. At least that's what Kuga-san said, anyway. I'm on my way to the media staff who will be shooting the report on this later. Chie-chan - Kuga-san told me that you know what to do once you're inside. Good luck." Aoi patted their shoulders and quickly disappeared, just before a man came into sight, straightening his jacket.

"What are you doing here?" He asked them, crossly. It seemed he was not in a good mood.

"I'm here on behalf of Fuuka High's newspaper." Chie said proudly, flaunting her pass with 'reporter' written on it. The man frowned but acknowledged it, and was just about to ask Mai why she was there when she cheerfully announced that she was leaving.

Aoi-chan sure was eager, Mai thought, pushing her way towards the TV screen on which their declaration was to be aired. Seeing Shizuru again, Mai altered course, but failed to surprise the older girl even when appearing from behind. It was like the other girl had been expecting her at any moment.

"Tokiha-han, did you find your friends?" The student council president inquired with a smile, her eyes focused on the screen. She was watching the acting, and no wonder she didn't divert her attention, thought Mai. Anh's performance was excellent. Despite being so young, the more famous magazines were already pronouncing able to play almost any persona. Her looks couldn't be underestimated, either; she had chin-length hazelnut hair, and eyes only a shade lighter than Mai's own lilac ones. Her figure could be comfortably compared to Shizuru's, which made her a very attractive young woman.

"Yes, I met up with them," Mai answered, sneaking a glance at the cameras of Fuuka's television channel, "but we had to split up, since they had to go to the place where the other media are." She recognized Aoi's back next to a camera, not far from the TV staff stood Chie was loitering nearby, seemingly not paying attention to her girlfriend, but in reality alert in case she was needed.

"I see," Shizuru smiled, turning her head and regarding her with her warm eyes. "Does Tokiha-han know where our mutual friend is?"

She was probably talking about Natsuki, Mai decided, shaking her head in the negative. "She probably doesn't deem this event important enough for her to make an appearance." They both laughed.

"_This is Fuuka TV, reporting from the filming stage of the new movie, called 'Katakoi Koukou'** with the participation of Fuuka's young film star Anh Lu," _

These words brought both girls' attention firmly to the now colourful screen, both girls anticipating what would come next. Natsuki hadn't told them anything, after all, except for the most crucial points of the plan. Mai peeked in Chie and Aoi's direction, only to discover that the two teenagers were now nowhere to be seen. Was this supposed to happen?

"Tokiha-han should probably be on her way, too." Shizuru said, seeing her distressed look. Mai shook her head.

"No, I should go when…" She began, but was cut off by the buzzing of the screen and the change of the picture. Instead of an interview with the film director, the huge plasma TV displayed a curious picture. On a white background with big letters and broad face was written 'T.N.T.'. The characters were crimson red and took most of the screen.

Panic ensued among the filming staff and Fuuka TV's reporters, but everybody abruptly ceased when a deep male voice began to speak.

"Good morning." It began. Mai couldn't help but gasp, and when she snapped her head to the side, she noticed Shizuru's expression was also slightly off, betraying her surprise. They both knew that voice.

_I can't believe it! Is she doing this to spite him? Brilliant! _Mai did her best to stifle a wide grin, which was fighting to appear on her face.

"_I am called Blackwood and am the leader of the newest gang in our beloved city. Today I declare__ war! I declare that we'll erase the other gangs. I declare that we'll take down John Smith's regime. I declare that we'll be victorious!"_

At that point the all security and police officers on the scene were trying to figure out how the recording was being aired. Telephones were ringing, staff members were checking if the broadcast had been hacked from an outside party, the head officer responsible was shouting orders at his subordinates - these scattered to and fro no sooner had he finished. Mai couldn't find strength in herself to move; she was rooted to her spot, completely forgetting Natsuki's admonition to leave after the message was aired.

"_We are T.N.T. – make sure you remember it!" _

The screen went back to normal, displaying the film staff running about and the confused expression of the reporter, whose microphone was held limply over one arm. His colleagues apparently then told him that they were on air again, for he shook himself out of his stupor and announced that they were going to cut off the report, and return to the news broadcast.

Mai excitedly turned to Shizuru, ready to share her anxiety at their success, but discovered that the girl next to her was looking elsewhere. Following that level gaze, Mai saw Natsuki leaning against the nearest vending machine, sipping on a can of coke. The three of them smiled mischievously.

A group of people rushed through the space, separating them, eagerly pushing towards one of the security guards to ask and learn more about what had just happened. As soon as they had passed, Natsuki was gone.

* * *

"That was simply amazing, Kuga-san!" Aoi joyfully exclaimed. She was sitting on the floor of Mai, Natsuki and Mikoto's dorm room with a happily grinning Chie embracing her from behind.

"Yeah!" Chie chirped, "The part where Aoi replaced the empty disk with the recording was my favourite!" She smiled at the girl in her arms.

"After they announced a few months back that Fuuka TV was going 'digital' and would no longer use normal cameras, I immediately thought how stupid that was." Natsuki said. She was comfortably propped up on a few pillows on her bed, sheets tangled at her feet. Mai and Mikoto were at the table, the middle-schooler sipping on a huge bowl of ramen.

"Where's President Fujino?" Mai asked, glancing at Natsuki.

"She has council work. We took a lot of her time, after all."

This made sense to Mai. "Ah, being the student council president is not an easy job, I guess." Natsuki gifted her an approving nod. "By the way Natsuki, you told us that we would all take some part in this. So what did Mikoto do?"

"She bought me a coke." Natsuki said blandly, totally killing any respect that she had earned from Mai.

"You slave-driver!"

"Hey, I promised her that you'll cook her ramen tonight!" Natsuki replied offended at the accusation.

"You're horrible." Concluded Mai grumpily, making Chie and Aoi laugh. Natsuki just scoffed and got back to business.

"Anyway, it's going to get harder and harder from this day on." Their new leader warned them.

"No kidding." Chie said, pointing out what they were all thinking. "You told them that we'll be causing a revolution, Kuga-san."

"Just 'Natsuki' is fine, Chie." Came the reply, before Natsuki shifted her attention elsewhere again. "Mai, you'll need to ask Sugiura to be the advisor of our new club, in which you'll be the president and I will be the vice."

"What club?" Mai asked, dumbfounded.

"The Bridge club. We'll need that cover, believe me."

"Ah, Natsuki-san!" Aoi said, re-entering the conversation. "Why did you choose T.N.T. for the name of the gang?"

"Yes, why the explosive? It could've been 'K.J.S.A.' for 'Kick John Smith's Ass' or something like that." Chie offered, slightly offended (like all of them) that Natsuki hadn't asked for their opinion.

"It's not an explosive," Natsuki said blandly, "it's a theory in Bridge.".

"What is it?" Mikoto licked her lips after having finished her portion.

"It means 'Total Number of Tricks'." Natsuki explained. "T.N.T. is a theory, which states that both partnerships are able to play in their best suits. For an example, if North-South takes nine tricks, playing diamonds – their most favorable suit, - and West-East takes ten playing spades, then the total number of tricks is nineteen. There's more written about it in that book I gave you - you should have remembered." Natsuki finished by glaring at them for not thoroughly accomplishing the reading they had been told to do.

"Yeah, well…" Mai rubbed the back of her neck, laughing nervously.

"…and I thought it sounded kinda cool." The always stoic Ice Princess admitted with a faint blush.

"It is. It was also cool that you used your father's voice for our chimera leader 'Blackwood'." Mai complemented her, provoking surprised glances from the couple hugging on the floor.

"Even though it's a programme, I was able to tell Chie exactly how I wanted Blackwood to sound, and before I noticed it, he sounded just like that bastard." Natsuki replied, not paying attention at Chie and Aoi's questioning looks. "I decided to leave it like that."

Mai only nodded.

"I'll be going to check on Shizuru now." Natsuki rose from her bed and went for the door. "I want to thank her, since I'm indebted to her now." Before she exited the dorm, she turned around to regard her new comrades.

"It's gonna get busy from now on, so prepare yourselves."

* * *

Glossary:

* Scissors coup - the Scissors coup is named so because it cuts communications between defenders. This enables a declarer to prevent the defenders transferring the lead.

** I suppose most of the fans know, but 'katakoi' means 'unrequited love'. 'Koukou' means 'high school'. Just thought that if I translated the movie's name, it would sound lame XD Everything is cooler in Japanese, methinks. ^w^


	14. Chapter 14

**_Greetings! First and foremost, let me apologize for the slight delay. It was caused by a mistake on my part and I hope that it won't happen again soon. Actually... I'm not sure about next week. Just sayin'._**

**_Thank you for the reviews! Now, thanks to Crosswood, I offer you chapter fourteen! The flash-back arc is now over and the story will go on. This time I looked more thoroughly through the document my Beta of Awesomeness sent me and I hope that the typos have decreased (it's wishful thinking to say disappeared, right?). Anyway, enjoy!_**

**_Edit: Yeah, seems like next week I won't be uploading the next chapter. My sincere apologies to all of those, who are following this story! For the next few days I won't have access to a computer, so you can probably understand my predicament. Again - I'm truly sorry. .  
_**

**Disclaimer: Mai-HiME is not mine~! *is plotting how to steal the copyright***

* * *

"And what happened next?"

Nao broke the silence to ask after Mai stopped narrating, the other girl seemingly lost in her memories. She shook her head when addressed and smiled at the younger girl.

"Oh, this and that… but that was what you wished to know, right?"

"No!" Nao said crossly, disappointed that Mai wasn't willing to tell her more. "I want to know more about Kuga's past, and why she turned out like that. And why the hell is she with that Fujino chick?"

"I simply don't know more about those things. But I'll tell you briefly about what followed the next few months after we created T.N.T.

"We founded the Bridge club with Midori-sensei as our supervisor and had our first meetings at our 'headquarters'. We started small - sabotaging drug deals and other small crimes, which we learned about from Natsuki's informer. Bit by bit we started recruiting members; people whose lives were altered by the gangs or the government. Only students, of course. Natsuki found us a place on the border of the city where we could practice combat skills without being bothered. We call those sessions 'Bridge club field trips' and Midori-sensei approves as she thinks we're traveling and breathing fresh air. She claims it's good for the health to take walks, especially in the forest near the city. Naturally, she is not aware of what we're really doing. And that's basically it, or everything that I'm allowed to tell you about." Mai finished recounting her freshman year in Fuuka High School, and started to look thoughtful.

"About Shizuru-san… well, she and Natsuki got together the night after our declaration, but decided to keep it a secret for various reasons. We don't really talk about it."

"Oh." Nao nodded, somewhat satisfied with the answers she had gotten. Now she didn't feel like the only one who didn't know T.N.T.'s history. Still, she hadn't forgiven Kuga about the events that had happened earlier. It was this feeling that prompted her to ask Mai another question on the matter.

"Were you ever able to forgive her?" She hesitantly looked at the older girl. "After she used you and your brother and all that?" Mai was stroking Mikoto's hair - the dark-haired first-year was slumbering peacefully on her lap.

"I haven't forgotten what she did. But as time passed, I realized that she didn't know another way to ask me for help, since she's so proud and has always dealt with her problems without the conscious assistance of those around her. She speaks the truth – she is not a _good_ person in the sense of the expression as we usually use it. But we are lucky we have her on our side."

Mai shook her sleeping friend awake. Mikoto slowly opened her golden eyes, stretched, and yawned like a big feline.

"Are we going back, Mai?" She asked and pointed at the window The sun had already set. Nao stood up.

"Yeah, why not go back?" She urged the two roommates "Let's go." Mai nodded and the three of them exited the changing room.

"So, what happened with that Tate guy?"

"Uh…"

* * *

_It was late. Shizuru was in the student council room, tired from the events of that day, but still with work to do. She was tired enough that she didn't even notice the door sliding open, or her best friend entering._

_That husky voice then, when it came, caused her to jump. "Hey, Shizuru" _

_Quickly collecting herself, the student council president turned to look at the smug girl leaning on the wall next to the door. Natuski pushed off it and walked towards her, a smirk on her face._

"_Good evening, Natsuki." Shizuru greeted her, tone flat, but her fatigue disappearing the moment her crimson eyes met emeralds. "What is it that Natsuki wants?"_

"_Uhh…" Natsuki changed her attitude immediately. "I… I want to thank you for your help today." She looked nervously at her feet. _

"_Natsuki is welcome - she can ask me for anything anytime she wants." Shizuru collected her papers in a folder, which she put inside her desk. _

"_I…" Natsuki began again, successfully drawing Shizuru's attention with the way her voice wavered. "I want to apologize for that time in my apartment, when I… uh… you and Mai…"_

"_It's quite alright, I understand…" _

"_No!" Natsuki cut her off, provoking a baffled expression on Shizuru's beautiful face. "No, you don't…"_

"_Now Natsuki has gotten me confused." Shizuru admitted, standing up and going to the younger girl._

_Natsuki clenched her hands into fists, her shoulders tensing. "I've tried so hard to not let anyone close to me… yet you… you've managed to do it anyway! And then before I knew it, I cared about you! About what you thought, about what would happen if we got closer, about being allowed to be happy and have good friends like you… and then he threatened you, and I was more worried for you than I have been my entire life up till now. So, why, Shizuru?" Natsuki caught her by the shoulders and made them look each other in the eye. "Why did you decide to get closer to me? Why?"_

_Shizuru had never seen her best friend so emotional. Natsuki's expressive confession had rendered her speechless; she could only stare (her mouth slightly agape) at the other girl. Natsuki's brows were creased, her teeth were gritted, and her eyes held a look demanding immediate answers._

"_Because I like Natsuki." Shizuru whispered, her lips dry. Despite her voice being quiet, it was firm and resounding with confidence. Natsuki let her arms fall to her sides._

"_It can't be that simple."_

"_But it is."_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Whatever for?"_

"_I intended only to come and say thanks, but it turned out like this." Natsuki sighed, and Shizuru was allowed to witness the sheer exhaustion that other girl had been keeping hidden. _

"_I'll be going now. I don't want to bother you any longer." Natuski turned._

_Shizuru followed the other girl's retreat with her gaze. She wanted to say something, anything, to prevent her from leaving. _

"_Natsuki, wait!" She was surprised at how desperate her plea had sounded. Obviously she wasn't the only one surprised._

"_What is it?" The younger girl turned back again, perplexed._

"_May I walk with Natsuki to the dorms?" Shizuru requested, feeling extremely stupid. It was such a lame excuse to spend more time with Natsuki. _

"_Uh, sure." The girl in question agreed, a bit taken aback. "Let's go, then."_

_She held the door open for her, and closed it after them. _

_They walked silently, both of them trying to say something, but without knowing what exactly. Being nervous wasn't in her nature, Shizuru thought, and didn't suit her. She always knew what to do and what to say to get what she needed or wanted. With Natsuki, it was different. Natsuki's reactions were unexpected almost every time they talked, or each time she tried to provoke her with teasing comments. But the embarrassment was always there, Shizuru mused happily, remembering some of the blushes Natsuki had let her witness._

"_Yes, cute indeed." She said aloud, without realizing._

"_What is?" Natsuki asked. Shizuru tensed a bit and let out a small laugh, intended to hide her own mortification. _

"_You're weird."_

_Well, clearly Shizuru had failed. "Ara, that was a rather rude comment, Natsuki." She feigned hurt, successfully this time. _

"_Ah! I didn't mean to…" Natsuki started, but was interrupted by an amused Shizuru's melodious laugh. This caused the biker to frown and huff, a pout appearing on her face. Yes, Shizuru truly cherished these moments, in which the younger girl let her guard down and allowed her - even though it was unwillingly, she was sure - to see the real Natsuki._

"_Natsuki is a sweet person, isn't she?" She commented lightly._

"_No, I'm not!" Natsuki protested. "Hey, stop laughing!"_

"_Very well." Shizuru chuckled, peeking sideways at her friend. She couldn't help but be mesmerized, submerged in a desire to reach out and hold Natsuki, who was so beautiful even in the gloom. Her face was partially hidden by the darkness which had engulfed campus - Shizuru hadn't realised how long it had taken her to finish her work. It was truly late…_

_Just when she was about to do something she would probably regret later, both of them were startled by the sound of breaking glass, and by a few angry shouts coming from the direction of the building they had left not long ago. They exchanged anxious glances, and reached a silent agreement. _

_Natsuki motioned to the small forest, which could conceal them if the situation was dangerous. Sneaking hand in hand (much to Shizuru's pleasure), they crept back towards the faculty building, and once they were close enough, they stopped to evaluate what was going on._

_A group of students were standing in front of a broken window - some of them holding flash lights and clearly on the lookout for other people. _

"_Are you sure this is a good idea, Toshi?" One of the girls asked hesitantly._

"_Do you want to drop out of school because you couldn't pass stupid Sugiura's test?" A boy hissed in reply, thus unknowingly introducing himself to the two hiding girls. _

"_They're trying to find and destroy the tests." She quietly informed Natsuki, who only rolled her eyes in response. Whether the annoyance was directed towards the other students or at her for pointing out the obvious, Shizuru couldn't tell._

"_Go get a teacher." Natsuki whispered to her, and before she could protest her friend emerged from the woods, successfully drawing the group's attention. Shizuru couldn't find the will to breathe, let alone run to ask for help. Why was Natsuki always so rash? Didn't she see that those people were willing to cross more than one line to protect their place in this school?_

"_Nice evening you've chosen to manifest how stupid you are." Natsuki greeted them, walking straight towards Toshi. He took an offensive stance, raising his fists. Natsuki advanced until she stood straight and intimidating, no more than two feet away from him. _

"_Well, well," He snarled, while his friends circled around her, "if it isn't the Ice Princess herself." She paid them no attention, smirking at Toshi. Apparently that played on his nerves. "I don't care that you're a girl - I'll still beat you if you do something odd."_

"_You're the odd one. Only a fool makes threats he's not prepared to carry out. If I were to threaten to hit you unless you shut your mouth and get lost, and you presumed to speak, what do you think I would do?"_

"_You wouldn't dar…"_

_Natsuki hit him. _

_A sickening crunch and a bloodied face later, Toshi was laying on the ground, knocked out cold. The two girls he had brought with him gasped and took a few steps back, before their morale cracked completely and they broke into a run, back towards the dorms. Shizuru didn't even try to remember who they were, for the other three boys were now launching themselves at her Natsuki. She was rooted to her spot, fear gripping at her so tightly that she couldn't even find the strength in herself to yell for them to stop._

_Natsuki jumped out of the boys' reach, stumbling over something in the process - the darkness didn't help her this time. One of the boys decided to take advantage of her loss of balance and aimed a punch at her jaw, which connected painfully and caused Natsuki to take a further step, trapping her against the wall behind her. Flushed by his small moment of victory, he decided to finish her off with another punch - Natsuki ducked smoothly and he slammed his fist into the solid wall. Obviously the wall didn't mind - it wasn't the one which collapsed to its knees, clutching its probably broken hand._

_Two were left now, and they were not as stupid as their friend. Instead of rushing head-on into the fight, they chose to circle until they stood on both sides of Natsuki. Her emerald eyes flashed in the dark from one of the boys to the other, carefully evaluating her possibilities of victory. _

_Shizuru decided that this was her cue to act; she wasn't going to stand on the sidelines any longer. Not when Natsuki was involved. And besides - she was the student council president. She was supposed to warn her fellow students when they had wronged… and those boys had most certainly wronged in more than one way._

"_Please, wait a moment." _

_Shizuru emerged from behind the tree she had used for a hiding-place, regretting that she hadn't done so earlier, and mentally scorning herself for letting her fear that Natuski would be hurt paralyze her. Her voice held an authority and power which a normal teenager couldn't dream of mustering, let alone use to their advantage. The two boys turned towards her, a look of confusion on their faces, soon replaced by fear and alarm. It looked like that they were reasoning that dealing with two people, one of which was the infamous student council president, made the chances of getting away with their hands clean slim - even if they won the physical brawl._

_Natsuki also didn't seem to welcome her appearance though - she was glaring at her with a look bearing annoyance, anger and (as peculiar as it was on her face) panic. Not changing her offensive stance, Natsuki waited for things to unfold, clearly having not expected such a change in the flow of events._

"_President Fujino… stand back!" One of the boys growled "Or we'll be forced to deal with you, too." He looked like a cornered animal. _

"_I would request you listen to your own advice." Shizuru threatened, without batting an eyelash. "As student council president, it is in my power to increase or decrease your punishment. And you are going to be punished - mark my words." _

"_We'll see about that." The one who had spoken snarled, turning his back on Natsuki and crouching in order to pounce at Shizuru. That was his mistake._

_The moment he showed an opening, Natsuki launched at him, put her arms around his shoulders, hung on them like a heavy back-pack and slammed her knee in his spine. He crumbled to the ground._

_She wasn't fast enough, however, to get away from her third opponent, who had moved towards them as soon as Natsuki had attacked his friend. Shizuru could only stand and watch, the world in slow motion, as the boy tackled Natsuki and both of them fell onto the broken glass. The one who first met the ground was the girl. She let out a yelp of pain as a few shards of the shattered window pierced her back, but she didn't give up, and her fist connected to the boy's temple. He stumbled off her, allowing her to clamber back up from the ground and onto her feet. Once up, she aimed a kick at his chin, which caused him to twist backwards and fall yet again._

_As the boy struggled to stand up, it seemed that his world was still spinning, preventing him from regaining his senses. At his next attempt to rise, he slipped on the blood from his palm, which had been opened by a glass shard stuck into it. He smashed face-first into the ground again, groaning. Deciding that it was too tiresome to get up, he gratefully embraced unconsciousness. _

"_Natsuki!" Shizuru called out and ran to the heavily breathing girl. Once at her side, she inspected her friend for more serious injuries. She winced when she felt warm blood on her friend's back and quickly drew her hand back, fearing that in the dark she could accidentally cause more damage than she would help. "We should call…"_

"_You were supposed to have done that already!" Natsuki snarled and swatted her hand away, taking a few steps back._

"_I…" Shizuru couldn't muster a reply. She knew that she was at fault and felt horrible for not being able to do anything. Even her fear of leaving her friend alone wasn't an excuse._

"_Idiot. Why didn't you go search for a teacher when I told you to?" Emerald eyes pierced hers and Shizuru averted her gaze downwards in shame. She could feel the reproach practically streaming from Natsuki._

"_I didn't want to leave you on your own, Natsuki." Shizuru whispered, more to herself than to her friend. _

"_What would've happened if you had been hurt?" Natsuki shouted, causing Shizuru to snap her head back up and lock eyes with her friend. She could read more than hurt and anger in those green orbs, she discovered. _

"_So that you could get hurt instead?" She angrily retorted, clenching a fist in front of her chest. "Well, congratulations, Natsuki. Your plan, as always, worked!" Shizuru rarely showed any emotion different from absolute calm, but could be ferocious when provoked - and now she could hold it inside no longer._

"_No, it didn't!" Natsuki shouted back. "The plan didn't consist of you barging in on the fight! I was supposed to stall for a while, until a teacher came and I didn't have to beat the living lights out of those shit-heads! You weren't supposed to be here!" _

"_Why do you insist that I stay safe?" Shizuru demanded, stalking towards her friend, and standing before her with no intention of backing down._

"'_Cuz I don't want to lose you! I want to keep you out of harm's way - you're a good person. You're the only one who cared." Natsuki stared right back at her, stubbornly. She was clearly distressed that she was forced to speak her mind on the matter. After licking her lips to clean them of her own blood, Natsuki swallowed hard, anticipating Shizuru's reply. The student council president studied her, frowning._

"_Let's go inside, so that I can call the security guard. He's probably sleeping, since he isn't already here. I want to take care of your wounds, too. Doctor Sagisawa is probably not on campus." _

_The change of topic made Natsuki emit a small sound of incomprehension, but nevertheless she quietly followed the older girl back inside the building. _

_Shizuru walked ahead, eyes focused on the floor. She could hear Natsuki drag her feet behind her, but couldn't bring herself to look back or offer her help. They went straight for Sagisawa's office – the medical ward. Shizuru had keys for most of the rooms in the faculty building, enabling her to go wherever she wanted. _

_After having a quick talk on the internal line with the drowsy guard, she turned around to face Natsuki, discovering that she was rummaging through the drawers labelled 'medicine' and 'bandages'. After Natsuki had found whatever she had been looking for, she slammed the drawers shut - gathered on the bench was a bottle with pills, disinfectant and a few bandages. Shizuru watched quietly as her injured friend swallowed what she assumed were painkillers, and then use a mirror to peek at her back, clearly trying to figure the best way to remove her clothes without the small glass shards sticking deeper in her skin._

_Shizuru went to her and put a hand on her shoulder, silently asking permission to assist. Natsuki wordlessly gave her consent by shrugging, as if telling her she didn't mind. Shizuru led her to the nearest bed and laid her down on her stomach. Then she reached for a pair of medical scissors and carefully started to snip the bloodstained cloth._

_It took a great effort not to wince and accidentally cut Natsuki when Shizuru first saw her bruised and wounded back. Sure, it was nothing serious or life-threatening, but knowing that it was her fault she couldn't help but utter an apology, which went unanswered. Not letting this silence bother her, she picked up a sterilized pair of anatomical tweezers, which she used to carefully remove the glass shards. She felt Natsuki tense a bit, but otherwise she stayed silent. Shizuru's fingers softly trailed down the perforated skin, before she continued her fine work with the cloth, that she had dipped in some spirituous solution. The moment she touched the deepest cut Natsuki hissed, causing Shizuru to withdraw her arm hastily in alarm. She felt a tear slide down her cheek, and watched it drop on Natsuki's bare skin. Quickly regaining her composure, she ungracefully wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to prevent more from falling._

"_Idiot." A muffled comment came from the lying Natsuki. "If you were afraid of blood, you should've told me so." She pushed herself up, flinching a bit at the uncomfortable movement but ignoring it, turning towards her friend. Shizuru was rooted to the spot, her eyes veiled with stormy clouds, a turbulent storm of emotions. She had never been in such a situation before; a situation in which she was supposed to hold in all of the feelings she carried for a certain friend of hers. Said friend wasn't making this any easier as she pushed her for an explanation about what was bothering her. Shizuru barely sensed the arms clutching her shoulders tightly, shaking her roughly, a voice dipped in worry and fear calling out to her._

"_Oi, Shizuru! Are you okay? Did those bastards injure you? Are you dizzy? Hey, answer me! Shizuru!" Natsuki shouted desperately, searching dull eyes for any clue about the condition of the other girl. _

_She was startled when Shizuru let out an uncharacteristic whimper, threw her arms around her, and buried her face in her neck. Natsuki awkwardly embraced her and started rubbing her back in efforts to soothe her. _

"_Hey, it's okay. Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. You did what you thought was best, so I guess…" Natsuki stopped her pitiful attempts to calm Shizuru down when she realized how pointless it was. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"_

_After a short pause, Shizuru willed herself to tear herself away from the younger girl's embrace and look her in the eye. She drew in a sharp breath when Natsuki raised her arm to wipe away the traces left from the few tears she had allowed herself to shed. _

"_I don't know if it's wrong or right, Natsuki." She whispered, entranced by her closeness. Their noses were nearly touching…_

"_Tell me and I'll decide for you, then." Natsuki offered in an equally hushed tone. "It's hypocritical of me to ask this of you, but trust me, okay?"_

"_Alright." Shizuru agreed and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. She could not bear to watch the reaction. Not with what she was about to tell her._

"_I love you."_

_It crushed her. It suffocated her. It tormented her. Surely, death would be sweeter and preferred to the silence which had followed after her confession. She could no longer hear her own rapidly racing heart, let alone sense that the one in front of her had stopped breathing. _

"_It's wrong."_

_Their friendship was over._

"_Since I don't know if I can feel love anymore."_

_Her life was over._

"_So I probably won't be able to feel as strongly as you do."_

_It was all over._

"…_but…"_

_Was it?_

"…_will you bear with me and let me try?"_

"_Natsuki?" She peeked from behind her long eyelashes in order to confirm the small hope that had been given to her. She met a pair of soft green eyes, expressing more than words would be able to. It was going to be alright._

"_You don't need to shed tears for my sake, idiot Shizuru." Natsuki continued to trail her fingers on her face, painting imaginary figures._

"_I'm sorry…"_

"_Don't apologize, either, idiot."_

"_Sorry."_

"_Idiot Shizuru."_

"_Could Natsuki stop calling me an 'idiot'?"_

"_Shut up, idiot."_

_And they kissed._

Shizuru woke up. The darkness greeted her still blurry vision.

She always woke up at that scene in this memory. Probably because the following events spoiled it - their small Eden had been invaded by the still sleepy security guard and the disorientated doctor Sagisawa, both of which demanded to be told what had happened. Of course, Shizuru had been standing with her back to the door, so the two intruders hadn't seen anything which could not be denied by lies and innocent explanations.

Taking a huge breath, she bathed in her Natsuki's scent, allowing herself to plunge in fuzzy memories once more. She let out a happy sigh.

"What the hell're you sighing for?"

Shizuru abruptly sat up, startled at the rude interruption of her moment of pure bliss, looking around the dark room frantically. The sleep was gone from her eyes completely.

"Nao-chan! We were being careful not to scare her out of her sleep, remember? Even Mikoto's been quiet!" Shizuru, puzzled, recognized Mai's scolding tone. Judging from the direction it had come from, they were seated at the table.

"She was already awake, okay?"

Shizuru was able to pinpoint the owner of the other voice as Yuuki Nao – T.N.T.'s newest member. She didn't like the girl that much, and thus immediately felt ashamed that she had let her see such a moment of weakness.

"Good evening, Mikoto-chan, Mai-han, Yuuki-han." Shizuru greeted them, slipping out of the warm and tempting bed sheets.

"Evening? It's already half past ten." Nao informed her, and was punished for her insolent behaviour by Mai's fist of justice and love, planted firmly on the top of her head.

"Show more respect for the student council president!" Mai sharply rebuked, flicking the lights on. Shizuru blinked a few times to adjust her sight, and then noticed the clock; it was indeed a late hour. Standing up, she straightened her crumpled clothes, and smiled beatifically.

"I should probably be going." She excused herself with a bow.

"You bet…" Nao carped.

"Nao-chan… this isn't even your room…" Mai growled, disappointed at her newest friend's rudeness. It reminded her too much of Natsuki's own mordant remarks.

"Who cares?" Nao demanded, crossing her hands. "Harada and Senou are making out in my room - take responsibility!"

"Wait, why should I be the one responsible?" Mai huffed at the unfair accusation.

The door of the room opened quietly, and then closed again.

Mikoto cheerfully waved goodbye, but was ignored.


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N: Hello... *hides behind her chair* To all of those, who have been awaiting this inexcusably late chapter: Please accept my deepest apologies! I really don't want to make excuses, because it's pointless. However, I will have to give you an explanation, as to why I'll be breaching my schedule in the future, as much as I am ashamed and frustrated about it. You see, when I began writing, I thought that I would surely have enough time. Let's say I made a miscalculation - I simply failed to foresee that there were certain obligations, which needed my undivided attention. I'm not saying that I'll be discontinuing! No! I have you as witnesses that I swear that I'll do everything in my power to update weekly. But enough of my tedious problems!**_

_**I wish you a pleasant read and I would like to give my thanks to Crosswood for beta'ing this chapter. She works really fast, gives extremely helpful tips and is generally awesome. So if you enjoy this installment, you must know that it's thanks to Crossy. ^^ Also, to the people, who reviewed the last chapter - my sincere gratefulness! **_

**Disclaimer: _*sighes*_ Do I really need to say every time that Mai-HiME/Otome is not mine? .**

* * *

Many things went on at Midori's class and (regrettably) teaching had to be one of them. The '17-year-old' had long ago faced this fact, and had perfected her skills in order to avoid it. But this was absolutely alright by Natsuki, because (to be fair) so had she and her friends. Usually Natsuki simply skipped, but today was different.

Quite luckily for them, this school year they had been put in the same class - courtesy of Shizuru, although she would never admit to it. Natsuki was staring absent-mindedly out the window while Midori slept on her desk, having given the class an extract from the textbook to read. Her red ponytail was as messy as always, and her sports clothes were creased. Yes - she had clearly been on a drinking spree last night, despite the situation on campus.

Because of the teacher's condition, it was easy to communicate without being overheard – every small group was engrossed in their own conversation. Mostly they talked about one thing – the incident yesterday. Mai, Chie and Aoi were no exception, conversing heatedly and once in a while throwing glances at Natsuki's direction. At a certain point in time (between the tenth and eleventh look) she decided that enough was enough and shamelessly glared back.

"If you want to ask me anything, just do it, okay?" She growled at her victims. Aoi smiled and nervously called her over.

Mai cut to the chase, knowing it would do her no good to beat around the bush. "Natsuki what did you find out last night?" She observed how her friend's expression changed from annoyed to pensive, which was never a good sign.

"We'll be having more trouble with the police from now on." Natuski's frown deepened, as she remembered what she had overheard last night at the faculty building.

"What do you mean?" Chie asked, leaning forward in her seat. She, Mai and Aoi had conveniently positioned their desks so that they could look at each other. Midori's classes were like recess, really.

"I made a mistake in yesterday's game, but I don't know what it was." Natsuki explained to them briefly, taking a seat on top of Mai's desk. Mai tried to shoo her off it with no success. "When I went to the building last night, I was able to listen in on a conversation between two of those agents Shizuru told me about. They were not police, obviously, but were talking about outside interference in the school's affairs. I think that Smith might be onto something - including our little pastime. I guess that we'll know more at lunch. Himeno has spread word that there's gonna be some kind of announcement in the big gym, so we should probably go."

"Yes." Mai agreed, poking Natsuki's hip with her pencil in a vain attempt to get her to abandon the small desk.

"Mai?" Natsuki turned towards her, irritation evident on her features.

"Mhm?"

"Stop doing that or I'll stick this pencil in a certain unexplored territory, which I'm sure you want to keep intact at this very moment."

The threat worked. Mai pointedly put her writing instrument back on the wooden surface and lifted her hands in surrender.

"And Mai?"

"Yes, Natsuki?"

"Next time you bring Nao to our room, don't put her in my freaking bed!" Natsuki warned her, earning stifled giggles from Aoi and Chie. This cost them an infuriated glare from Mai, who blamed them for the incident.

"Nao-chan said that her own dorm was _occupied_." Mai's eyes narrowed to slits and the two lovers could swear that small puffs of smoke were coming out of her nose. They gulped. "You know that ever since you decided to crash in my dorm, I've been forced to sleep with Mikoto in one bed, Natsuki!"

"Do you know how shocked I was, when I crawled into bed to find _her_ there?" Natsuki hissed, an embarrassed flush adorning her cheeks.

"Oh, trust me, I _heard_ exactly how much both of you were _shocked_." Mai flinched at the memory of the ear-splitting scream which had awoken her from her deep sleep. Mikoto had almost strangled her in her panicked rush to get out from under the covers to see what the commotion was all about. Mai had never even dreamed that either the feared gang leader or the rebellious freshman could ever be able to produce such shameful girly shrieks.

Chie and Aoi snickered and Natsuki growled. The bell rang.

* * *

Even though she had been given the opportunity to rest, Shizuru felt like every single drop of her life force had been drained from her. Haruka hadn't helped, with her constant remarks on how the temporary student council room was next to the lavatories, how wrong it had been of Himeno not to call the classes off today, how instead of giving funds to the stupid Bridge club (Shizuru was sure there was _something_ personal there) it would've been better used for strengthening security, and so on. Yukino was, as always, quietly sitting on her desk working on her laptop, while Reito sipped on his western tea, observing the campus and occasionally waving and smiling at the people who were passing outside.

It was a usual, boring lunch break. At least because of the upcoming speech they weren't being made to go to classes, which was a thought, which filled Shizuru with relief.

The door slid open without a knock and inside glided Natsuki, interrupting Haruka's endless rant.

"Learn how to knock, delinquent!" - Haruka never missed an opportunity to jump for Natsuki's throat, even about the smallest things. Like every time Natsuki shot her a disparaging look - this was only fuel to the fire.

Natsuki greeted Reito and Yukino with a silent nod, before turning to her dear friend.

"Shizuru, come with me for a bit." She demanded, more than requested.

"Why do you think that she'll dance to your tuna? She has work to do!" The Head Executive protested at once.

"Tune," Yukino corrected her, without looking up from her screen.

"Oh, yes, I see she's pretty busy at the moment, Cicerone." Natsuki hit back, displeased that the stupid lioness was trying to make the decision instead of her Shizuru.

"I assure you that I'll be right back, Haruka-han." The girl in question rose and smiled at her self-proclaimed rival, before making her way to the hallway, escorted by Natsuki.

After looking around and making sure that there wasn't anybody in ear-shot, they moved into intimate proximity, which served to distract Shizuru from her problems. Natsuki's concerned, hushed inquiry came almost at once.

"How are you feeling?"

Shizuru frowned slightly, not sure how to respond. Surely, she was allowed to feel a bit down, right?

"Tired." She forced a smile, but seeing that this act did nothing to disperse her girlfriend's worries, she continued. "I believe that if I rest for a short while, I'll be better."

"If there's anything I could do…" Natsuki trailed off, a searching look in her emeralds, looking for an answer. Shizuru smiled and rested her arm on her beloved's shoulder. She allowed her finger to slide down the other girl's collar and trace circular patterns. Her back was pressed to the wall, knees slightly bent, with Natsuki dominantly hovering above her with a palm pressed next to her head. Fingers brushed slightly against chestnut locks. Shizuru rather liked it when her little pup got over-protective and imperious, even though sometimes Natsuki didn't realize it if it wasn't pointed out.

"Well…" Shizuru seductively drew out, still playing with the fabric. "There are a few things I would like Natsuki to do for me…"

As expected her partner's face turned from concerned to beet-red in a matter of milliseconds, but the younger girl made no move indicating that she was going to retreat to a safer distance.

"Shizuru!" She exasperatedly hissed, gritting her teeth. "That's not what I meant!"

"Don't worry, my Natsuki." Shizuru soothed her lover with a mellow whisper. Obviously she wasn't convincing enough, since the crease between the two dark thin brows only deepened.

"Let's meet up tonight. I'll sneak up into your dorm." Natsuki promised, ignoring completely their agreement to keep things as subtle as possible. It was not the time to be cautious, not after what had happened. Shizuru was sure that Natsuki wanted to be by her side at all costs - at least for the next days and nights… but it was still impossible, not to mention dangerous. She shook her head.

"No, Natsuki. If…"

"I'll be careful - don't worry." This time it was Natsuki doing the reassurance. "So tonight…"

"Let me go!"

They both jumped at the familiar voice; Shizuru barely resisted laughing out loud at Natsuki's fierce reaction. She had pushed off so hard that she had crashed into the opposite wall, knocking down the fire-extinguisher which clattered noisily on the floor. The door of the student council room burst open and Haruka jumped out like a mad bulldog anticipating a bloody meal.

"What's going on here?" She demanded, her lavender eyes moving from Shizuru, to Natsuki and finally settling on a boy wearing the uniform of an Executive, who was holding Nao by the arm. The latter had ceased her struggles and was looking defiantly right back at Haruka, her chin held high.

"This one was skipping class." The boy informed.

"What 'class'? We're in lunch break, you dimwit!" Nao shouted and violently yanked on her arm, freeing it at last. She rubbed it and cursed under her breath.

"I meant before that!" He growled at her and turned to the Head Executive. "I've been chasing her for the last twenty minutes!"

"Too bad she let herself get caught." Natsuki remarked with disappointment, eyeing her newest accomplice. Nao's anger found a new target.

"Well, forgive me, Kuga. It's not like…"

"Enough!" Haruka ordered, hands on her hips. "Now, we're going to go…"

"To the big gymnastics hall, where the Headmistress is going to make an announcement." Shizuru stated firmly, successfully causing her rival to fall silent. "It's almost time – we should go if we don't wish to be late."

"Yes, let's go," urged on Reito with a smile, sincerely hoping to avoid more confrontations.

The Executives were already walking ahead when two girls exited the toilets. The first didn't stand out at all – with brown hair, she wasn't either short or tall, and had an unnoticeable aura. The same couldn't be said about the second one, though. She was around Natsuki's height and was indeed beautiful, with stormy grey eyes and most unusual teal hair, cut in a bob.

"Good afternoon, President Fujino." The second girl greeted with a sweet smile, ignoring everyone but Shizuru. The polite president smiled back.

"Good afternoon, Marguerite-san, Clochette-san."

As if remembering that there were other people, Marguerite quickly gave her regards to them as well. Clochette bowed stiffly. Natsuki glared with intensity at the girls' retreating backs. Nao chuckled quietly, while Shizuru lifted a brow at her. The student council president really tried not to make it obvious that she didn't like the red-headed girl, however she wasn't sure if she succeeded.

Nao said nothing and casually started walking in the opposite direction to the one everybody else had taken. Obviously she didn't intend to go to the speech Himeno was going to give. Her plan was frustrated by Natsuki, however, who swiftly grabbed her by the collar and started dragging her with them. Shizuru hid her smile behind her hand. Nao's expression was priceless.

"What do you think you're doing, Kuga?" Nao snarled, tring to regain her freedom - but her struggle was pointless. Natsuki's grip was merciless.

"Taking you with me."

* * *

Mai, Chie, Aoi and Mikoto were already seated in the hall, and waved Natuski and Nao over. Shizuru excused herself with a smile and left them near the entrance, heading for her designated place at the back of the small stage where the other student councillors and school staff were standing. Natsuki had finally let go of Nao's collar. The freshman expressed her displeasure at being forcefully dragged there by using her colourful arsenal of profanities, which made even Natsuki cringe.

"…and then you won't be able to sit ever again!" Nao finished, panting heavily from the exertion of her tirade. She really didn't want to come and listen to some boring speech, probably telling them to stay calm and trust each other and all that hypocritical bull…

"Let your tongue loose like that one more time," Natsuki ground through her teeth slowly, "and I guarantee you that you'll find some of your threats mere ticklish sensations in comparison to what I'll do to you." She emphasised her words by staring unblinkingly at Nao. Nao, in response, suppressed an urge to gulp and (remaining superficially nonchalant) chose to avert her lime eyes towards something safer and more interest-capturing. That gum on the floor looked fascinating!

Natsuki was about to make her go to the rest of the group, when the Headmistress moved behind the microphone and started speaking. Everybody stopped chatting, and either paid attention, or (dispite keeping quiet) remained indifferent towards what the woman was talking about.

"Good afternoon, my dear students. I have assembled you today to inform you that after yesterday's unfortunate incident, we have decided to tighten security even more. I'm truly sorry that I wasn't here when the attack happened…"

Nao heard Natsuki snort quietly.

"…as my duty as Headmistress required. I will be brief. Fuuka's Police Department has requested to be allowed to assist us in protecting our students, so today I will request the student body to welcome Lieutenant Sergay Wang."

A blonde man ascended the stairs and stood next to Himeno on the stage. He was wearing his blue police uniform, a few medals hanging on his proudly thrown out chest. His stern brown eyes scanned the crowd of whispering teenagers as if he could remember every single one of them. Finally his gaze settled on the two girls standing near the entrance. Nao decided to look right back at him, not wanting to lose a staring match with the stuck-up officer. A smirk tugged on her lips, but it slowly faded as he averted his eyes. She did a mental cheer, before noticing that he was now looking at Natsuki. When she turned her head, she was petrified with shock – Kuga wasn't glaring back, but was instead absent-mindedly observing the ceiling, a blank expression on her face.

Nao's frantic lime orbs shifted between Wang and Natsuki, trying to detect what unnatural force had made the older girl behave like that. It was not like her at all. She noticed that the man's eyes also rose to the ceiling of the gym - she followed them both.

Then she felt a jerk on the arm, and before she could react she was being dragged out of the gym. Just before she left the hall, she noticed that everybody was now dumbly staring at the ceiling. She felt like she was going to choke with laughter – apparently all of the students and teachers had followed Wang's gaze, wondering what the police officer was looking at. Nao didn't even protest at once again being tossed around like a rag-doll, the scene had been just that exhilarating to her.

They stopped not too far from the gym's doors and Natsuki let her arm go, turning towards her. She smirked when she saw Nao snickering, mischief glittering in her eyes.

"Honestly, I thought that you'd burn a hole through his head." Nao confessed, mirth woven in her mocking voice. "But then you made him look like a fool. Even though I hate you, Kuga, I'll give you that this was simply superb."

"Thanks I suppose," Natsuki replied. "I just couldn't resist. And I've already found out what I needed to know. There was no point in staying in there any longer."

"And what was it that you wanted to know?" Nao inquired. Instead of giving her an answer, the other girl motioned for her to follow. Natsuki chose to speak while they were crossing the green lawns towards the place where the small forest began.

"Well, basically the government has an idea what's going on at Fuuka High, but just doesn't have enough evidence to prove anything. So they've sent a watch-dog. What worries me is that probably he's not alone. I think I have a clue as to who's working with him."

They were now absorbed in the seclusion of the forest, safe from the possibility of being overheard or found. Natsuki slowed her pace and Nao did the same. The gang leader started speaking again, but quieter now - and her younger companion wondered why.

"Did you know that students think that nobody comes to the forest?" Natsuki whispered. Nao shrugged, not really caring what the others were thinking or doing. Natsuki continued, undisturbed by the lack of attentiveness. "They also think that whatever is done here, stays here. This is foolishly wrong, of course. You know why?"

Nao lifted a brow and stopped following, making the other girl turn around. Her questioning look was met with a mischievously gleaming one.

"Care to share, Kuga?" She asked impatiently, also in a whisper.

"Keep quiet for a moment. I'm sure you'll notice."

Nao did as she was told. Both of them had stopped next to a big oak, surrounded by other smaller trees, which had not been able to grow taller because of the thick shade its elder was casting. She could hear bird songs and distant noises from the city, but there was also something else. Not being able to distinguish it better, she closed her eyes and concentrated her whole attention on the… conversation.

"People?" She murmured, having not expected anybody else in the forest besides them. Now that she was aware of the presence, she could make out some of the words - whole sentences even. Why hadn't she perceived this earlier? She felt really silly, but, of course, didn't so much as hint towards it. The other people were clearly really close.

Natsuki nodded and beckoned her to come closer, indicating that she wanted to tell her something which she also didn't want overheard. Nao complied with both palpable reluctance and a scowl, silently informing the gang leader that she didn't enjoy the close proximity.

After what Mai had told her yesterday, she had started wondering about Natsuki's behaviour around her and why the other girl was treating her so very differently to her other acquaintances. She understood that Natsuki's connection with both Mai and Fujino was strong and went deeper than she could comprehend at present. Chie, Aoi and Mikoto were also close to the headstrong leader, knowing her far better than the other members like Akane or Kazuya. The others were something like subordinates to Natsuki – people she trusted, but not completely.

'So,' asked herself Nao, 'where am I in this picture?'

Was she standing on the same ground as Akane? Was she in Chie's group? Did she even belong with anybody else? Was she special and different? And had Kuga just stopped talking?

"What?" Nao hissed, acting as if she hadn't understood what she had been told. She preferred to pretend that she couldn't hear as opposed to being caught thinking about something completely unrelated to the situation at hand.

Natsuki regarded her with cold disapproval, but leaned down once again nevertheless. Her breath tickled Nao's ear and she barely suppressed a shiver.

"Climb up this oak and figure out what is it that they're planning this time," was the hushed command. "I'll be waiting in the club room."

Natsuki drew back and mutely offered to lift her up by making a step with her hands. The red-headed freshman blinked in confusion, but lifted her eyes to evaluate her challenge. And what a lofty challenge it was... however the command in those emeralds didn't really leave her with a choice, so she sighed and put her right foot on the improvised step-ladder. As soon as she had placed her foot, she was lifted seemingly without effort, and she quickly grabbed onto a thick branch. She pulled herself up silently, crouching on a thicker and more sturdy-looking branch. When she glanced down, she noticed that Natsuki was looking everywhere but at her, the older girl's cheeks faintly graced with the colour red. Realizing that probably her skirt was at fault, Nao hurriedly moved towards a more advantageous position for eaves-dropping on the conversation, which was taking place not too far from them. The second time she dared to peek back, Natsuki had already disappeared out of sight.

The huge oak's branches proved to be the best cover one could ask for when trying to remain unseen. Even though she enjoyed the experience of playing spy, Nao cursed at the fact that Kuga had convinced her to climb a darn tree. Well - cursed without actually complaining vocally, at least. She was deeply surprised at her own humbleness, and her willingness to act in accordance with the instructions she had received.

After a pleiad of mentally grumbled cusses and accusations, Nao crawled safely along the branch to above the heads of two girls from her own year-group. They were standing not too far from her, on the other end of a small clearing.

It looked like they were arguing over something, and they were really into it as well, judging from the aggressive stance of the dark-haired one. She had two thin dark braids, and the rest of her hair was pulled up in two short pig-tails. Her uniform was exceptionally clean, without a trace of any creases on either her orange blazer or skirt. In appearance and attitude she was the complete opposite of the other girl, who just looked out of place in her uniform. Nao thought that any type of clothing would look awkward on the feeble brunette. It was not like the girl was unsightly, but the feeling wouldn't leave the newest member of T.N.T that whatever the dark-haired one did would fall under the category of 'bizarre' . Her silly smile didn't help her case, either. Nao knew those two - they were a duo that was hard to miss.

"What if Marguerite-senpai found out? Then we'd be at ground zero!" Nina Wang waved her arms to emphasize how frustrated and angry she was. She was glaring daggers at her companion, who waved off the enraged stare with the power of her amazing ability to belittle important subjects.

"Don't worry, Nina-chan!" Yumemiya Arika cheerfully announced. "Tomoe-chan won't notice, I'm sure. We're not that obvious - and now we have the help of Sergay!" Her two braids bounced as she approached her friend, hopping on one foot. The hand she put around the other's shoulder was swapped away.

"No, we mustn't rely on him!" argued Nina vigorously. "Garderobe shouldn't be traced back to him, or he'll be in trouble. We're just one step away from proving that Tomoe is running T.N.T. We can't just let it go to waste!"

'What?' Nao almost lost her grip on the branch she was clutching, but regained her senses fast enough to prevent anything perilous from happening. But what that Wang girl had said… it was just ridiculous. What were those two playing anyway? And what was Garderobe?

"Everything will be just fine, Nina-chan." Arika once again reassured her friend joyously. "After the upcoming confrontation, we'll prove everything and all will be well! Tomoe-chan looked like she was going to accept the challenge and I'm almost convinced she will. However, we're more and have the secret help of Sergay, so it's going to be a pretty one-sided fight. Everybody knows that T.N.T. has very few members."

Nao gnashed her teeth and narrowed her lime eyes in displeasure. Some very funny things were happening without her knowledge. She really didn't like to be kept in the dark. The conversation continued, though a bit one-sidedly.

"After the incident yesterday she practically announced that she was the leader of _that_ gang." Nina crossed her arms in thoughtfulness and started pacing. "We already knew that she was head of some kind of shady group, but she herself confirmed it."

Arika plopped on the grass and regarded her friend with curious blue eyes. The young Chinese continued voicing her thoughts.

"Nobody saw her yesterday at the dorms or at school during the invasion, and I'm sure that the carnage in the faculty building was her doing. Everybody knows she's insanely infatuated with the President, and that she would do anything for her. Also; the last few gang accidents point to a group of students from this school. It's undoubtedly her! There's no way we could be wrong. Even the police and Sergay are convinced… though he refuses to do anything with no solid proof."

Nina bit her thumbnail and stared at her feet with a scowl. Arika stood up and went over to her friend.

"Let's go back - some people might notice we're not at the gym and start asking questions," urged the merry first-year. Nina looked at her and her scowl changed to a light smile.

"We'll just tell them that the milk you drank this morning was expired."

"You're mean, Nina-chan!" Arika pouted, while the other girl let a small smile grace her features. Without another word they headed for the oak where Nao was hidden.

Not one prone to easily panicking, Nao just held her breath and hoped that the leaves would hide her well enough. Her muscles had stiffened with anticipation and her head was full once again with questions she wasn't sure she wanted the answers to. The part that Marguerite was literally madly in love with Fujino was one of those things which caused her severe mental damage. Didn't that President have any decency? She attracted all the weirdoes and psychopaths… Kuga included.

She was sure to let a solid amount of time pass before daring to descend from the tree. In spite of the fact that climbing was the easier part, it didn't take her much effort to reach the solid safety of the ground. Taking a quick look around (just to make sure) she then headed back the path she and Natsuki had taken on their way there. Her head was buzzing with all the information she had gathered, but her mood darkened when she recalled that she was going to have to cross the whole high school campus to reach the Bridge club's room. Oh, well…

* * *

Inside the dim club room, Nao had to blink to adjust her eyes from the brightness of outside. She could make out Natsuki sitting at her usual place, in her usual pose – legs lifted on the desk, leaning on the two back legs of her chair, staring at the ceiling.

"So? What did you learn?" The leader didn't even wait for Nao to sit down before asking about what interested her. The first-year made herself comfortable on top of another desk before bothering to reply.

"I didn't know that Marguerite was Blackwood, boss," she mockingly retorted.

"Is that what Garderobe thinks?" Natsuki inquired, without sparing her a glance. "I'm not that surprised, really."

"What other things are you keeping from me?" Nao questioned, a trace of anger detectable in the way her voice changed. Her expression also darkened.

"I sent you there especially to hear from the horse's mouth, Nao," coolly said Natsuki, who finally looked appraisingly at her. She was dodging. "I see you've found out a lot. What else did you learn?"

"I'll tell you when I'm sure you're not hiding something from me." The newest member snarled back, tensing and leaning forward. The older girl felt compelled to stand and glower menacingly at Nao.

"What are you suggesting, little spider?" She said, referring to Nao's climbing.

'How dare she?' The furious freshman clenched her fists. 'She made me do it!'

Nao was about to launch at Natsuki, when the door slid open and in walked Mai, Mikoto, Chie and Aoi. Both riled-up girls froze, but continued staring each other down.

"What's going on here?" Mai asked, feeling the responsibility to intervene.

"Oh, same old." Nao answered, not tearing her gaze from Natsuki. "Kuga continues to stubbornly believe that I'm a mushroom. She keeps me in the dark and diligently feeds me shit!"

"Natsuki?" The motherly figure of the group decided to prevent the fight, which was a sure thing if those two were left to their own devices. They were so similar, after all.

"Remember Garderobe?" Natsuki asked her, unblinkingly staring at Nao, only slightly tilting her head.

"Yes?" It was Aio this time that prodded for her to continue.

"Apparently they're planning something, which Nao refuses to inform us of."

The exact and accusing reply made the other girls shift their attention towards Nao. She didn't budge, though, and continued her act of defiance.

"Tell me what Garderobe is!" She demanded, not caring about her disadvantage. After all, the people in this room were all on Natsuki's side, no matter what happened. She was just the 'newbie' who could pose a threat to them and their secure position of 'simply the Bridge club'.

Despite her advantage, Natsuki complied with Nao's wish and told her what she knew. Obviously, she wasn't in the mood to play around.

"An organization run by idiots, working for the police. They consider themselves in the right, and are trying to fish-out potentially dangerous individuals while they're still in school. It seems they were lead to believe that T.N.T.'s leader is treading the boards in Fuuka High. What you told me is that they think _Marguerite_ is Blackwood. I knew that they were aware that T.N.T. was connected to our school, but for it to turn out like this… I had put this as the worst case scenario in my plans."

"Oh…" was Nao's bright reply. Her blank expression was a sign for Natsuki to continue.

"They are wrong. Marguerite is too dumb to lead T.N.T., but they clearly don't see it. That bitch," Natsuki spat out with venom, "is the head of the Valkyrie gang. They're a cheap rip-off of us. She doesn't know that we're T.N.T., of course. She thinks she's so smart and resourceful! Ha! If she could, she'd be flaunting her status around for all to see!"

"I think it's starting to get personal," remarked Chie, smiling with unease.

All of them were already inside the room, the door securely shut. Nao felt that Kuga had carried out her end of the deal, so she decided to contribute as well, with her fresh news.

"That Yumemiya Arika said that there was going to be some confrontation between Marguerite's group and their own. They also mentioned that this Wang guy was there to help them, but would do nothing against that teal-haired hussy, because there wasn't enough evidence. Garderobe suspects her of the obliteration of Kisame's men, because they think she's in love with…"

"I know." Natsuki cut her off sharply. Her scowl deepened, recalling the looks thrown at her Shizuru every time those two interacted. Though after assimilating what Nao had told her, she let a smile grace her lips.

"A confrontation? Perfect. Now we just need to know when exactly." She chuckled at the thought of being able to kill two birds with one stone.

The stone didn't even need to be thrown by her.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Hello! Here I am again trying to figure out how to apologize, but I don't know how. So the upload of this chapter will probably be my clumsy way of saying 'sorry'. Once again the credits for beta'ing goes to Crosswood - this time she had a lot of work. I wasn't a good author and did a pretty poor job on this chappie, but she managed to make it readable! What I wanted also to say is that I had a hell of a time writing this. It might feel rushed, but I assure you that there's a reason behind this...** **Really! **_

_**To reply to my anonymous reviewer: Your decision to post a review made me happy - this means that I've done a better job than before. So thank you! I'm also glad that according to you (or at least what I understood), I didn't fail at the implications of NatNao. (Also, if I haven't been able to show it properly - ShizNat is sorta relevant to the plot.) Which is also a good thing. ^^ However, I'm not going to rely so much on the fluffy-romance and instead will try to focus on other topics. So... ah... if you're expecting more in that department in this fic... well. I'm sorry to disappoint. I hope this won't make you quit this, though! **_

_**This is all I guess. I wish you pleasant reading! ^^ Thank you for following this story so far!  
**_

**Disclaimer: Mai-Hime/Otome - not mine.**

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Natsuki knew that this wasn't one of her brightest ideas.

Despite that, she peeked around the corner of the corridor, carefully scanning for movement. She was currently trying to sneak unnoticed in Shizuru's room, but her task was in no way an easy one. To reach her goal she needed to get past Suzushiro Haruka's door. Natsuki could swear that the Head Executive had eyes and ears everywhere - there was no other explanation about how the accursed rule-protector could always be in exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time. To Natsuki this was just a nuisance, because it made sneaking around the student council members' rooms nearly impossible – this usually ruined her dinner plans.

The last time she had attempted such a bold act she had been almost caught by the lioness, who had jumped out in the corridor clad only in her nightgown. The fact that Natsuki had been detected was undeniable, though. The dark-haired rebel still wondered about the mysteries of Haruka's ability to intercept any and every rule-breaking individual in the school and then bring them to so–called 'justice'.

Yes, Natsuki would enjoy arguing with Haruka about the meaning of 'justice' - and the way it should be achieved and served. However, tonight the Head Executive was the one person she wanted to see the least. Natsuki scoffed - actually, on her way here she had encountered another person she had no desire to be even physically remotely close to. Natsuki supposed that the girl had hung around under Shizuru's window in vain hopes to take a glimpse of the beautiful student council president. Said president's girlfriend had to wait for about twenty minutes until the abhorrent obsessive admirer finally gave up for the night and went on her way.

Natsuki hated Tomoe Marguerite with passion. She would never admit that to anybody, though. There was a single reason behind keeping quiet – she wanted to give off the impression that she couldn't care less about the teal-haired girl's existence. That she was above such pitiful concerns such as loathing some insignificant creature for its infatuation with her dearest Shizuru. She had unbent enough to talk with Shizuru about Tomoe, but the older girl had assured her that her fan posed no threat for their secret relationship. Natsuki had been reassured then, but her calm had only lasted a short while.

The leader of T.N.T. had discovered something very important about Tomoe. Despite her irritating behaviour, she was not stupid. Natsuki just liked to think of and portray her as such, because doing otherwise was practically admitting that Tomoe might be her rival. Natsuki was not going to sink so low as to have that creep as her rival.

If Tomoe's top grades hadn't indicated her intelligence, Natsuki could have also drawn conclusions from the acting skills the younger girl constantly put to use. Whether it was to deceive her peers or teachers, Tomoe could lie without effort. But, of course, when faced with a certain pair of emeralds those numerous shams meant nothing. Natsuki knew a better actor, and was also well acquainted with the art of deception herself. She could see through it all - it hadn't even bothered her until some months ago.

Tomoe's mind ticked like a clock. Everything in her routine was systemised; she followed through all of her work with precision, was extremely devoted to her interests and aims…. and like a proper clock, her brain regularly went cuckoo. Her idea to form a gang had obviously come to her in one of these moments of mental derangement.

As soon as summer had come, Natsuki had started getting information from Yamada that there was a new player in the underground world. She had been surprised, as it had seemed that the rookie gang didn't have supporters in the government – something unheard of before T.N.T. Then one day she had received word from her informer that the clues to this mysterious group lead back to her school. She'd asked Chie and Aoi to snoop around after that, and they'd uncovered a few disturbing facts.

Tomoe's Valkyrie gang, as they called themselves, consisted only of females. Their place of meetings was unknown. Natsuki still couldn't figure out where a group of more than thirty high school girls could meet on campus without being spotted. She'd even resorted to using Yamada to find out - but surprisingly he had failed her. Despite feeling truly at a disadvantage, Natsuki had unwillingly let that problem go. She had bigger things to worry about. After all, she carried the responsibility for making her own gang stable and capable of fighting against the other criminals. The trouble was that Valkyrie's activities had become more and more obvious, until one night they had almost been uncovered by Smith's police near the school.

Unfortunately, at around the same time Natsuki and a few of T.N.T.'s members were sneaking back inside campus, returning from a successful gang-extermination. A group of policemen had been awaiting them, hidden both by the trees and by the ivy around the hole in the towering fences. T.N.T had been forced to fight in order to escape from their unexpected enemy, and the police had seen the distinctive initials sewed on their black uniforms. The only thing which had saved them from being completely exposed was that they were wearing masks. Back then, Natsuki had cursed at her foolish decision to let the Valkyrie gang do as they pleased. Her mistake had almost cost them… had almost cost_ her_ everything.

But now a golden opportunity had appeared. It was an opportunity to correct her error, and even more – an opportunity to get rid of those new pests called Garderobe. _That_ group had appeared only recently - and seemed to pose a bigger threat than Valkyrie ever had… but those idiots had caught Tomoe's trail, instead of hers. Natsuki couldn't believe her luck. Her foul mood was brightened up by the very thought of the two groups destroying each other. And this outcome was inevitable.

Garderobe had a false lead – that Valkyrie was in fact T.N.T - and now believed with their numbers they would be able to wipe out the small criminal group. It would be a surprise when they faced Valkyrie's members, who's numbers were sure to be far in excess of Garderobe's. They would destroy each other, and after those two mini-organizations were gone, T.N.T.'s enemies would once again be just Smith and the few other gangs. These other gangs would include the 'Golden Era' – a group about which Natsuki knew next to nothing. But with the deaths of the Valkyrie and Garderobe at least the school campus would be hers once again. Natsuki stifled a victorious snicker. Having successfully passed Suzushiro's room, Natuski's palms rested on the last obstacle - the wooden door, which was the only barrier left between her and Shizuru. Natsuki paused for a second, which meant she almost fell inside, when the door opened without her. She was just fast enough to regain her balance and not crash into the one who was standing in the doorway. Natsuki grinned, embarrassed - in return she was ushered inside, the recipient of a warm smile

"I told Natsuki not to come." Shizuru quietly scolded after locking her door. She was wearing her lavender nightgown, but there were no indications that she might have been sleeping.

"Still, you were waiting for me." Natsuki pointed out, making herself comfortable on the neat bed.

"Natsuki…" Shizuru sighed, but betrayed her own words with a hug and a kiss on her beloved's cheek. The younger girl unwillingly blushed. She was still not entirely used to the familiarity and gentleness Shizuru so freely offered her. The student council president pulled back, and also sat herself on her bed. They both stayed silent for a few moments, during which they just enjoyed each other's company.

Shizuru mutely shifted so that she could wrap her arms around Natsuki's waist, pulling them down on the soft mattress. The rebel didn't utter a word of protest. She was on top of the other girl, supporting the upper part of her body with her hands placed on both sides of Shizuru's head. Finding the situation rather tempting, Shizuru lifted her head a bit and locked her lips with Natsuki's, successfully pulling her down. Not pleased with her position, Natsuki rolled on her back, now forcing the older girl to lie on top of her, still sharing the warmth of their embrace.

"You should get some rest. You look tired."

"I could say the same about Natsuki," Shizuru quietly giggled, provoking a slight frown and a pout from the one lying under her. "She smells of the woods and the cold night air." Shizuru trailed her fingers down her love's sides, intentionally slowing them down when she reached the abdomen. Natsuki winced involuntarily.

"Ara, I knew it." Shizuru sadly whispered and made a move to get up, but she was held firmly by a pair of strong arms.

"Knew what?" Natsuki refused to let her go. She had explicitly come here tonight to stay as close as possible to her girlfriend and she was going to do so, unless really pressed not to.

"Natsuki is still in pain from yesterday." Shizuru explained, guiltily looking away. She was startled, therefore, when she was pushed off - suddenly, but gently - and ended up lying on her side, looking straight into a pair of emerald eyes.

"That was not your fault, Shizuru." Natsuki stated, her voice hard. The change wasn't intended to scare or intimidate — it was simply trying to convince Shizuru that she was alright and that she needn't blame herself. Still…

"If I had gotten there sooner, Natsuki wouldn't have gotten hurt this badly." The crimson-eyed beauty released a deep sigh, a worried and tormented expression now upon her young and flawless face. "Just like that time… I was useless."

"Don't ever say that again!" Natsuki said in a raised tone, angered by Shizuru's self-reproaching remark. She was _not_ going to let her girlfriend beat herself up again for that one little incident which had happened all that time ago. Since then she had made sure to teach Shizuru to fight and use a gun - just in case bad came to worst and she couldn't resolve a problem herself. Of course, teaching her beloved fighting hadn't been that hard – Shizuru had already been versed in basic martial arts moves, and physical exertion posed no obstacle for her. Shooting had taken a slight bit more of their time, but Natsuki was confident that their numerous practices had born fruit.

"You can never be useless. You've always been there when I needed you. Just forget those painful memories."

"Aren't the painful memories what help us proceed and avoid regretful mistakes in the future?" Shizuru asked bitterly, reaching up and entangling her fingers in raven locks.

"Then I'll remember for you so that you can have only pleasant memories. When the time comes, I'll help you. So just forget it, okay?"

A small smile crept on Shizuru's lips and Natsuki felt that she had finally been able to convey what she meant.

"Ara, Natsuki is willing to make me forget? But whatever will fill up the emptiness left?" The student council president teased, while slowly and unnoticeably decreasing the distance between them.

"Isn't it obvious, idiot?" Natsuki replied confidently. "You'll just have to create more happy memories." Her brow scrunched as she remained oblivious to the hidden intentions of her beloved.

"May we start right away?" Shizuru slyly leaned forwards, pressing the tip of her nose to Natsuki's. The younger girl let out an exasperated sigh.

"Shizu… mnph!"

* * *

The next day was a bridge club day.

Natsuki was sure that Nao was wondering about many things at the moment. She was also very much convinced that the younger girl wasn't ready to learn most of the answers.

Ever since they had talked and interacted in the mall three weeks ago, Natsuki had felt that there was _something_ in the red-haired freshman that she could refine and utilize. Many times she had found herself thinking that the similarity she saw between herself and Nao could prove crucial to her future plans; the decision to make Nao her protégée hadn't actually been as spontaneous as it had seemed to everybody else in the dorm room that night. Natsuki had pondered all the way back from the shopping centre - and that Chie had unconsciously forced her to act had only helped her, in a way. Of course she had needed to feign displeasure - the gossip queen's slip of tongue really had been unacceptable - but inwardly she had felt somewhat relieved that such an opportunity had been presented to her without her having to do anything to create it. To her mind, Nao was perfect for her goals. For a start, Nao was driven by strong emotions towards gangs and the unfairness the city had piled on top of her young self. She possessed the potential to develop her skills of deception, and use her immense creativity in the name of 'the greater good'. Yes, Natsuki planned to polish her into a person she could trust to run T.N.T., when it came time for her to exact her revenge on her own. Sure, Natuski could probably put Mai in charge, but she needed somebody with a similar mind-set to her own. Nao's appearance was so fortuitous that Natsuki toyed with the idea that a greater power had heard her thoughts and had sent her what she needed. It was good that she had saved the girl on that day, even though it had been only a whim on her part. The only problem was that the first-year was rebellious and stubborn -again, much like her. The constant banter they engaged in, and the fact that the snake could get under her skin with ease had made Natsuki (contrary to all logic) unwillingly warm up to the newest member of her gang. She would, naturally, never admit to it... however she found herself more and more at ease in Nao's company. It was much the same as how she felt with Mai or Shizuru, but with the younger girl it was as if she was alone with a part of herself.

A more perverted, insolent, and irritating part, yes - but nevertheless herself.

They were currently in the Bridge clubroom, she and Nao playing a game against Kimura and Dekasugi, who were by far in the lead. Natsuki sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes in frustration. Their opponents smiled at each other joyously – they were rarely on the winning side when playing against Natsuki. Nao irritably grumbled a few curses at the opposing team under her breath .

After the whole hostage ordeal, Nao had spent more time with the T.N.T. members in the Bridge clubroom. The people she saw most often (beside the 'golden members') were Akane, Kazuya, Dekasugi and Kimura. Dekasugi was a large guy, with messy black hair and soft brown eyes. He didn't look like somebody that would indulge in anything violence-related, as he was usually smiling all the time. Kimura, on the other hand, was a rather reserved girl - but she not haughty or superior. Her rare displays of happiness and sweetness revealed her to be a fairly kind and amiable person. She had ashy blond hair, hazel eyes and a fair complexion.

"Can't you at least pretend to try?" Natsuki's exasperated tone drew Nao's attention and the younger girl scowled at her partner.

"I'm just warming up," Nao answered. "Besides, what does it matter since you're playing with me?"

"If you deliberately cut off communication between us, what am I supposed to do?" Natsuki shot back, slamming her palm on the table's surface. "Read your little mind?" Her partner decided to play it safe, and instead of a more violent response she chose to simply lean back and sigh pointedly.

"Yes, well, your bigger mind doesn't seem to be of much help here, now does it? And what am I supposed to do with this hand? I can't convey to you 'my cards suck'." The complaint was followed by a light-hearted laugh by Dekasugi and a questioning look from Kimura.

Natsuki didn't like losing, but at this rate they were going to be beaten quite easily and she couldn't do anything about it. Well. Except for maybe yelling at her partner for not putting any effort in the game. This was an important skill for the gang as well!

"Nao!" Natsuki opted to scold the younger student. "How do you intend to play when you don't know the rules? Have you bothered to do any reading?" She really hoped that she wasn't wasting her time with her attempts to show Nao how things should be done. If the overheard conversation between Wang and Yumemia was anything to judge from, they would most probably need to learn to work in a team in the very near future.

"… a bit." Nao wasn't lying – she _had _done some reading, but none of the things she had learned, could be used in the game.

"A bit is not enough!" Natsuki shouted, standing up. Nao could've sworn that she would've been strangled, if the door of the clubroom hadn't burst open to reveal a panting Mai. Mai's expression wasn't close to panic though, which eased the feeling of dread which had risen in all of them.

"Takumi's surgery was successful!" She announced happily and loudly. The first one to speak was Natsuki, whose expression changed instantly from angry to pleasantly surprised.

"That's wonderful to hear! Congratulations, Mai." She nodded at her friend and let herself smile, infected by Mai's own Cheshire-cat grin. The thought that she actually found it inside herself to care about Mai's little brother and his surgery caused her to feel an emotion close to shock. When had she changed so much? Before she'd just used the affection between the siblings to her advantage - but now, after she had gotten close to Mai, she could freely admit to herself that she did care... even though she still had a long way to go.

The others in the room also gave their congratulations to the teenager, who was practically flying with happiness.

"We should celebrate, Tokiha-san!" One of the members exclaimed and others agreed to the proposal immediately. Nao grinned.

"Sure; we can go to a club and finally cut loose!"

Mai laughed nervously "I was thinking of something more calm, though." she said, politely declining Nao's offer. The younger red-head pouted with disappointment - now she wouldn't have a reason to go and have some fun outside the boring campus.

"Then what about you prepare something to eat and we have a small meeting here?" Natsuki gave her suggestion of course, in the certain knowledge that Mai would probably exceed herself with the cooking, and make them lick their fingers.

"How did you manage to make a party sound as dull as a business gathering?" Nao complained, not feeling excited at all. It was as if Natsuki had described a conference meeting with cocktail snacks and mineral water.

Natsuki glared at her younger companion, who glared pointedly back. A ringing of a phone interrupted their staring match and Nao grinned victoriously when Natsuki lowered her gaze to the display of her cell. The older girl frowned and picked up. Everybody fell silent, curious as to whether the call had something to do with their more extracurricular activities.

"Kuga," spoke a steely voiced Natsuki.

Mai glanced at Nao; both their smiles were wiped off their faces to be replaced by slight frowns.

"Yes, okay. When?" Natsuki nodded, and after a short pause continued speaking. "I understand. I'll be contacting you soon."

Natsuki hung up and stuffed the phone in her blazer's pocket. Kimura voiced her curiosity before anything else could.

"Is something wrong, Kuga-san?"

"No." Natsuki replied, piercing the shy girl. She smirked, which reassured the gang members that indeed there was nothing to be concerned over. "Everything's perfect even."

"Natsuki?" Mai called out to her friend, the question in her tone left unsaid. She didn't receive a reply.

The silence was quickly filled with the sound of rushing footsteps, headed their direction. All of the occupants of the clubroom turned their attention to the door and when it opened, it revealed Chie and Aoi. In contrast to Mai's arrival, the pair's unnerved appearance didn't foreshadow good news.

"Bad?" Nao decided to ask directly. And she had thought that she would have a peaceful afternoon… but ever since, the arrival of that police officer, they were forced to constantly hide and be very wary of their actions in fear of being discovered. It was strenuous to Nao's mind to be non-stop on alert all the time, and it didn't help that Kuga demanded more and more from her, intellectually speaking. Her sleep had also lately been interrupted by troubling images of violence, dark premonitions and a certain raven-haired gang leader. In short, the last thing Nao wanted was for trouble to visit during such a period of exhaustion and stress.

"I'm afraid so." Chie informed them, after they had both seated themselves. "We found about the actual numbers of the Valkyrie gang."

Natsuki tilted her head slightly in a mute request for elaboration. "This is not necessarily bad."

"It is." Aoi shook her head. "Tomoe has been recruiting some of the members of the other gangs she has defeated. Up until now we knew only that the Valkyrie gang consisted of other students, much like us."

"Don't compare us to them." Their gang leader growled, narrowing her eyes in anger fuelled by Aoi's thoughtless statement.

"So there are other branches of the Valkyrie, outside of campus?" Mai served once again as a mediator – she was afraid that Natsuki might snap and take it out on others now that her predictions had gone so awfully wrong.

"Yes, there are." Chie confirmed. "Which means…"

"I know what it means." Natsuki clenched her fists and turned her back to them. "It means that they by far outnumber not only us, but also those fools from Garderobe. This isn't going to be a fight – it's going to be a massacre! Valkyrie might lose a few members, but they'll obliterate that small 'Justice League' - and we'll have no chance of victory."

She sharply turned back towards the small group, anxiety completely vanishing from her features. In its place there was a look of reassurance and composure, which startled Nao a bit – the change was too abrupt for her to believe that Natsuki was indeed as calm as she tried to present herself as.

"I'll be contacting Blackwood. By tomorrow night the whole ordeal will be over."

* * *

"It'll take place at the docks."

"You mean Kisame's docks?"

"The docks aren't theirs any more – after Kinzo died, the ones that were left fell prey to other gangs. It seems that Tomoe took advantage of this… I should've seen it coming." Natsuki scoffed and buried her face in her hands.

It was late that same night and she, Mai, Mikoto, Nao, Chie and Aoi were still at the clubroom, discussing the problem at hand. After her conversation with Yamada earlier, the gang leader had been trying to compose a few game strategies, but hadn't come up with anything that met her high standards. Even if she took all of T.N.T.'s members… but a small part of them weren't good enough as fighters and others - while exceeding in physique and skills - couldn't possibly commit murder. She usually picked out the people who would be most appropriate for their missions... however this time it was a different. They weren't ready for something of this scale yet!

Tomoe had outsmarted her. Natsuki hadn't felt that humiliated in a long time. And to make matters worse, it had been in front of her comrades and close friends! This was… a first. She was glad that everyone kept giving suggestions which could possibly help her come up with a plan. The fact that they were going in circles, however…

"Why don't we just invite them to go out clubbing and take care of them, when they're drunk and helpless?" Nao still didn't want to give up on her fixed idea to go to a club. It seemed like she was set on having some fun, in spite of the whole situation.

"You heard Chie. That's a lot of people we're talking about." Mai said, trying reason with the first-year. Was Nao even taking this seriously?

"Oh... so it has to be something simple like a kinky picnic with cheap vodka, then?" The younger girl just wasn't backing down.

"Nao…" Natsuki sighed, finally looking up from her fingers and locking eyes with her protégé. They both stared at each other for some time, unblinkingly.

Nao suppressed her urge to wet her suddenly dry lips; being the object of such a pensive and piercing glare was remarkably uncomfortable. Natsuki simply continued her frantic thoughts, not actually paying attention to her surroundings. She thought that concentrating her gaze on one thing (which in this case happened to be Nao) would help her channel the fractions of a plan and be able to piece them together.

Nao… she hadn't taught her properly how to fight or shoot yet. However the girl was still here, trying - however mockingly - to help them figure out a path to victory. Well... Natuski had somewhat forced her into this position. She pondered that it was a tad bit unfair to the freshman, but she honestly saw no other path for her.

_Agh_, this was fruitless! She had to think of a plan quickly – it was crucial that they finished Valkyrie off right after their confrontation with Garderobe. If not, the situation could escalate and become even more unpleasant for T.N.T. If they struck after the fight, they were also sure to catch Vaklyrie in their weakest, even if not nearly enough for her gang to directly confront them.

Losing Garderobe would be good for T.N.T. – they were in no way important or threatening, and since they were an unofficial organization of the police their disappearance would be off-records. Nobody would care. It was clear that Smith hadn't put any hope or resources into this project. Why then, even after she had clarified that Garderobe were expendable, was Mai insisting on saving them?

"We can't afford to help those idiots!" Natsuki pressed, trying to convince her friend that it was futile to waste efforts on their enemy. So what if the students were killed? They were on the wrong side! She hadn't chosen them – they had to bear the consequences of their own mistakes.

"But can't we warn them to be careful? Or to bring more people?" Mai kept on insisting. This actually made the gang leader pause for a moment and consider the proposition.

"That's not a bad thought. We'll do exactly that. However, this won't spare lives, Mai. It will only lead to more victims - which is perfectly alright with me." Natsuki grinned, sinisterly.

"Garderobe can't acquire more members – you said that yourself earlier." Aoi acted as the voice of reason. Mai didn't even get a chance to protest.

"Yeah… I did, didn't I?" Natsuki felt discouraged once again. "I guess that…" She trailed off.

"What?" Nao urged, nervous and irked that she had to stay up this late, considering how tired she was.

"Well, we'll just sabotage their strategy and take advantage of the confusion afterwards." Natsuki told them, running her fingers through her raven tresses. "It's not the perfect game strategy, but it'll do. I'll modify it tonight and tomorrow I'll choose one of the possible outcomes, according to the situation…"


	17. Chapter 17

_**Greetings! Lookie here - this week I'm not terribly late! This, of course, is because I have the Beta'ing God on my side, because if it weren't for Crossy's quick work... Well, the chapter wouldn't have been posted. -.-' I don't know how I'll be faring next week, so I'm not promising anything regarding regular updates, but I'll be trying. I try to be a chapter and something ahead, when posting (e.g. this was written over a week ago), but, as we all know (-.-") this doesn't guarantee anything. But now I'm just babbling idiocy. Enjoy this week's installment and if there are any questions, I'm ri~ght here. ^^**_

**Disclaimer: Mai-HiME/Otome - not mine.**

* * *

It was still cold, but she felt only the warm body pressed to her back and nothing else. The morning sun barely penetrated the dense forest, so the rays of dawn hadn't really affected the gloom or the coolness yet.

They were alone. She felt annoyed that her hand needed to be held, but had complied knowing that she had to learn an entirely new skill without having much time.

"Don't tense."

She tried not to.

"Now, squeeze the trigger gently."

Her fingers were stiff, and once again she failed to produce the steady, gentle motion she was instructed to. Her hands were hurting like hell from all the practise she had done in the past couple of hours. She jerked, and the bullet once again whizzed past the target to strike another tree. Natsuki drew back. Nao instantly felt cold air replace body-heat.

"Why do you keep missing?" Natsuki grumped, crossing her hands in front of her chest and tilting her head. "We've been at this for a few hours!"

"Maybe because it's so freaking cold that my fingers have frozen!" Nao argued back, a bit upset with herself for not making much progress. Natsuki extended her hand and effortlessly took back the gun from the younger girl.

"Warm them up." She put the weapon inside the holster, hidden under her leather jacket. "Then try again."

Nao sulked slightly. Then she cupped her hands, brought them to her mouth and breathed out warm air. While repeating the action to take the chill off her fingers, she peeked through them at Kuga. Natsuki was not looking her way, but was instead staring off into space, brows furrowed in thought. The gang leader didn't give off any signs that she was tired, but dark circles under her eyes proved she had stayed up all night, going through the plans she had spent so much effort in making. Nao, on the other hand, hadn't stopped complaining since she had been dragged out of her warm bed before the break of dawn. Without even fully understanding what was going on, she had been dragged to Kuga's Ducati and then the next thing she knew, she was in the middle of some forest on the outskirts of Fuuka. To top it all off, this was to practise shooting with a firearm. She had gotten the hang of removing the safety and reloading the darn thing, but she still found difficulties in aiming and hitting the mark.

"Are you done?" Natsuki irritably asked, still not looking at her.

Nao didn't answer verbally, but instead glided towards the rebel and stood in front of her. She reached out her hand and awaited the weight of the gun. Natsuki moved so swiftly Nao almost couldn't see it – in an instant she had the weapon in her grip ready to be used, with the safety-catch off. She was still not accustomed to wielding a firearm - that was to be expected. What she hadn't expected was that the handgun would be so heavy that it put off her aim. Every time she thought she would shoot the bull's-eye, the bullet would fly past the whole trunk of the tree.

"Exhale and then shoot, if you think that'll help you. I know it works for most." Natsuki advised. Nao nodded absent-mindedly. She was once again focusing her attention on the mark. Following all of the tips she had received up until that point, she gently squeezed the trigger.

A flock of birds flew above their heads, startled from their nests by the sudden recommencement of the practice.

This time the bullet thanked within the outermost circle of the improvised target on the tree's trunk. In her excitement, she ventured two more aimed shots – they were as successful as the first. She clicked on the safety and quickly spun around, directing her victorious smirk towards Natsuki. Nao was determined not to smile or laugh, or make an arm-pump, and thus embarrass herself even more in front of the gang leader. Natsuki held her gaze with an appraising look, finally cracking a small smile of satisfaction. Nao mentally cheered.

"Good."

This lone word made Nao's mood darken a bit, but she assured herself that this was the best she would ever get out from Kuga. She was still kind of disappointed that she hadn't gotten more than 'good' though – she had put a lot of effort into her attempts, and according to Nao it wasn't a small achievement that she had learnt so much in so little time. "Only that?"

She put her free hand on her hip and glared at the older student.

"Yes." Natsuki answered curtly, all traces of emotion gone from her face. The elder - seeing that her monosyllabic reply would get them nowhere, and that Nao was going to continue to stare at her with unhidden hostility - decided to ask a question of her own. "Do you have the resolve to kill?"

"What do you think?" Nao hissed fiercely, not tearing her gaze away.

"I don't know." Natsuki chuckled. "If what the others and I are thinking is true, it shouldn't be that nerve wrecking for you. Then again, I could be wrong."

"Yeah, well, that won't be a first." Nao snapped, striking at a sore subject and irritating Natsuki's lacerated wound. She noticed with palpable mirth that this sally hit Kuga badly – her usual disapproving scowl was replaced with a mixture of anger and self-accusation. Her green orbs fell to the ground, but the brief moment of melancholy quickly passed. Nao _almost _felt bad for her.

"Are you strong enough to take a life away?" Natsuki asked casually. "To live with yourself even though you're aware that you've done something unforgivable?" Natsuki slowly walked towards her. The elder looked mildly surprised, however, when the barrel of the gun was pointed at her. Despite that, she didn't cease her leisurely advance.

The freshman licked her cracked lips, her arm firmly pointing the weapon at her leader. "If you can do it, so can I. Even Tokiha's done somebody in." She smiled, and then continued in an even, slightly amused tone. "Tell me, Kuga, if I shoot you now, would something happen? Will I be caught? Or will I just escape with your bike and leave the crows to gouge your pretty little green eyes out? What's stopping me from doing exactly that?"

Natsuki was now a mere three feet away from her. "Absolutely nothing, but you're forgetting something important." Her posture wasn't tense, and her husky voice didn't betray if she was afraid of losing her life.

"And what is that, Kuga?" Nao lifted an eyebrow, regarding the older girl with a negligence bordering with mockery.

"Me."

In one blurred movement Nao found herself on the ground, staring with bewilderment at the weapon, now mere millimetres away from her face. Natsuki was crouching in front of her, resting her chin on her arm, the arm itself propped on one knee. Lime green orbs followed the gun as it oscillated in small circles, silently making fun of her. She gritted her teeth and tried to get back to her feet, but felt the warm metal press against her forehead. Her heartbeat became more rapid, beads of sweat sluggishly formed on her brow. The corners of Natsuki's lips perked up, her eyes glimmering with glee and ridicule. 'You're a joke,' that look was saying. 'Did you really think you could beat me?'

"And that's how people die," she said, in a tone of haughty dismissal. This made Nao narrow her eyes and shake with fury.

"Why not kill me straight away, then?" As question had left her mouth, Nao realized that she had asked the same thing once before - but she needed to hear a different answer this time. Natsuki shrugged and stood up.

"Because that would've been a waste of time." Natsuki put the gun back inside the holster and stood up stretching, making her leather biker suit tighten around her.

"What would've been a waste of time?" Nao asked dumbly from the ground. She pushed herself up and stood before the gang leader, a serious look on her face. She needed a satisfying explanation – she had to know.

"All of it."

Another obscure reply. But Nao didn't get the opportunity to ask more - Natsuki was already heading towards the direction where her motorbike was parked. Nao clenched her fists, feeling utterly miserable. She knew that she wouldn't be getting anything more out of the stubborn Ice Princess, and accepted that she would have to wait. But how long would she have to sit on this electric chair of uncertainty? However… she could wait. Soon. Soon she would know everything needed to set her confused mind at ease.

* * *

"We don't have weapons."

"Mhm."

"A-a-and there's only the two of us."

"Yeah."

"This shipyard building is full of people. Enemies."

A tired sigh.

"Your point?"

"My point is that this is moronic and we're going to die!"

Nao, frankly, had talked enough talk about murderer and weapons for one day - but she'd be damned if she walked in there with just… Kuga!

"We already went through this, didn't we?" Natsuki cocked her head and regarded her with annoyance. "It should be fairly easy."

"Maybe for you." Nao grumbled under her nose, violently stuffing her hands in her blazer's pockets. "Advance sacrifice*, right?"

"Right."

After returning from the shooting practice, they had returned straight to the dorms, despite the fact that classes had already started. Nao was surprised to discover that the two of them weren't the only ones skipping – Mai and Chie were waiting inside Natsuki's room. The two sleepy second-years had informed Natsuki that all the other gang members had been briefed on the plan, in which Natuski and Nao would act as something like a decoy. The freshman had wondered when the gang-leader had decided the last part and told it to the others, since they had pretty much all gone to their respective rooms at the same time. Nao now had a general idea of what the plan consisted of, but once again only Kuga (and maybe Chie) knew all the details. The group had made some additional preparations, talked over things once more, and had eaten. They were ready. When the bell rang, Mai and Chie had headed back for second period, while Natsuki and Nao had headed out again towards the docks.

Now, if only Natsuki's plan wasn't so outrageously ridiculous…

"Tell me again, why are _we_ doing this?" Nao twitched, sneaking a glance at the docks. "Couldn't you have sent somebody else?"

"In most cases the one who's really at the top of an organization that's the one doing the most work. That's why they're usually found a few layers down, where it's still possible to get something done properly."

Nao narrowed her eyes at her leader but said nothing. This most certainly explained why Natsuki was there, but didn't really explain Nao herself. Why was she there? She had only a basic grip on things - only an obscure idea of how to use weapons or fight. Well of course she could always play dirty, but still… did Kuga not trust her enough to let her out of her sight? The thought made her cringe at how much she wanted to be recognized as an equal – such a desire was a first for her.

The two of them were now confidently striding across the open construction sites of the shipyard, as they were headed for the main building. Nao could feel the eyes of all the gang members. They hadn't done anything to them yet, probably because they hadn't been ordered to. She wondered if it would've been different if they had worn something other than their school's uniform. After all, Tomoe was bound to be interested if two Fuuka students just wandered in her territory… especially if one of them was the infamous Ice Princess, and also a close acquaintance of the student council president. Natsuki and Nao paused for a moment in front of the three-storey building before daring to push the old doors open.

As expected, they were met with the hospitality representative for gangs – men, women, boys and girls glaring at them with killing intent. There was no lack of firearms, pipes, knives and other weaponry. Surely they didn't intend to use them against just two girls?

The interior of the building was dim, but it was obviously used by people. Inside was one huge hall – each storey was marked by metallic balconies with banisters; offices lay along the narrow open corridors. In the middle, held up by scaffolding, was the large bow of an unfinished ship, which had started to fall apart if the chunks of metal lying next to it were anything to judge by. Despite this bow, which took a considerable amount of space, the hall was vast. The Kisame (and now Tomoe) had found a pretty sweet base of operations. It was as yet unknown though why Smith let the Valkyrie gang have it their way, since they now held such a strategic position with control over a significant part of Fuuka's vessels.

"Hello!" Nao cheerfully waved, but her frantic hand gesture only provoked the reluctant hosts; they clicked the safeties of their weapons and brandished the cold steel. Nao froze, slowly lowered her arm, and pouted playfully. "What's with the hostility?"

"What do you girlies want?" One of the men at the front asked. There were no more than a dozen people, but they by far outnumbered the two girls. Even though the sunlight shone through the dirty, broken or missing windows, there were still corners hidden in darkness, so it was impossible to tell if there were more people lurking about.

"We happen to be looking for Tomoe-chan. Is she by any chance here?" Nao continued insolently. Natsuki suppressed the sudden urge to snicker. They knew perfectly well that Marguerite was watching them through the stained window of the office on the third floor. She was bound to be there, after all.

Someone from the back called out.

"What do you want with the leader?"

"Oh, we want to talk to her about this and that." It was once again Nao who spoke. "We'd like to offer her some information, regarding a bog."

This time Natsuki couldn't hold herself back, but due to years of practice, she was able to cover her grin with a smirk. The remark was met with incomprehension, followed by insulted snorts and other animalistic guttural sounds. Natsuki rolled her eyes – couldn't that stalker pick goons more… decent?

Just as Nao was thinking that they were surely going to be riddled with holes by upset gangsters, a dark chuckle filled the spacious building. It bounced off the walls and continued to resound until the echo finally died away. All heads momentarily turned upwards and Natsuki and Nao were greeted by an amused Tomoe. She waved at them casually and started descending the stairs, her every step audible on the not so thick metal steps.

"What a surprise!" She spoke, walking dawn towards them. "But is it a pleasant one, I wonder?"

"That's for you to decide." Natsuki said at last, her eyes not leaving Tomoe - her posture didn't show anything else except nonchalance and calm. "You know of Garderobe - right, Marguerite?"

A few hisses indicated that Tomoe's underlings weren't pleased at the casual, nearly offensive way in which Natsuki addressed their leader.

"I do." The leader of Valkyrie confirmed, now standing ten feet from them and not making any move to get closer. "However, I'm curious how you know about them Kuga-san."

"Could we take this somewhere else?" Natsuki requested shortly. The polite tone was with great reluctance on her part, but she had realized that to get somewhere with the hated girl she should at least act appropriately human towards her. Even though, in her opinion, Tomoe didn't deserve the civility one iota. The leader of T.N.T. was regarded with a suspicious look from the other gang's boss and with disapproving grumbles from the lackeys.

"We're not armed," tiredly explained Nao, annoyed that she was once again so pointedly ignored. "Even if we were, it would be stupid to attack you when you're surrounded by your followers."

"But when we're alone, it's another question entirely." Tomoe crossed her arms in front of her.

"And be trapped inside here with all those lovely, harmless and decent chaps?" Nao snorted. "Sure… why not?"

It seemed like Tomoe didn't appreciate the use of sarcasm on the first-year's part. Despite being in the same year-group, they weren't that well acquainted. Or acquainted at all.

"It's also about Shizuru." Natsuki quickly cut in, nearly making Nao snap her neck as she turned to gape at her. It couldn't be possible that Kuga was considering talking about their love-rivalry at this moment! Natsuki's expression was one made of ice. Tomoe stayed silent for a short while. Then she nodded.

"Fine." She turned her head towards two nameless Fuuka High students. "Come upstairs."

Both girls inwardly smiled in self-satisfaction. On the outside they looked only slightly pleased… if not a shade grateful. They followed Tomoe and their fellow schoolmates upwards, passing by the disgruntled gang members as they went. It seemed that the thugs had been looking forward to beating the living daylight out of them as a warm-up for the upcoming brawl in the evening.

Nao walked side by side with Natsuki, throwing evaluating looks around, observing the building's inside more thoroughly. They hadn't known about some details, like the unfinished bow, or the heavy rust-eaten hooks dangling from the ceiling. However, this would make no big difference since the most important part of the plan had been realized.

After entering the small office, the two other Fuuka students closed the door, drawing the blind over the filthy glass.

Inside the room there was an old but clean table, with two chairs at opposite sides. Tomoe went and made herself comfortable in the one opposite them. The lamp's light bulb flickered.

"Make yourselves comfortable." Tomoe offered casually, before gasping with fake surprise a moment later. "Oh, I'm sorry. There's only one chair."

"No need to fret. I'll take it." Nao announced and plopped herself on the chair without sparing Natsuki a second glance.

"Very well." Tomoe smiled, but the pretence-politeness went only so far. Her features quickly darkened, and now wore a more sinister look than either Natsuki or Nao had seen her show. "Tell me what this is all about."

"Well," drew out Nao, once again taking the initiative. She didn't think Kuga minded, though. "I think you already know that Garderobe will be attacking you tonight."

"Yes." Tomoe scowled. "They gave me an ultimatum – if I don't quit my position and disband the gang, they'd proceed with their plans and obliterate the Valkyrie."

A sneer followed her last statement. She licked her lips and leaned on the table, locking eyes with Nao, who wondered if she would get out of this room alive.

"Do you know who they are?" Nao asked, sounding cool and collected.

"No. But of course they'll fail. Even people like you would be able to see that. However," the leader of the Valkyrie snapped her head to Natsuki, "you still haven't told me what your involvement is."

"We'd like to help," the Ice Princess offered casually, flicking a dark lock behind her shoulder. "You see, Garderobe is not what it looks like, at least not entirely."

Tomoe narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that they'll be getting help. Outside help." Natsuki shifted her weight and crossed her arms. "The Valkyrie gang is very famous, you know. But it's not connected to John Smith, is it?"

Flattered by the comment, Tomoe let pleasure run across her face. "No, we're not with Smith. Actually, we're against him – giving refuge to all those fallen gang members who don't like working under that man."

_She puts it quite nicely, _thought Nao, arching a brow. If she didn't know Tomoe's real nature, she would start questioning where her own loyalties lay - perhaps even questioning following Kuga.

"You sound a lot like T.N…" The first-year began, but was cut off by an enraged cry. She half-expected that it would have come from the one behind her - but it didn't.

"Don't even say that name!" Tomoe roared, looking ready to jump at her if she dared to make that mistake again. "We're nothing alike!"

Nao suppressed the urge to snicker. She knew that her and Natsuki's purpose was only to sit and stall for a while, talking nonsense… but playing with Tomoe like this was highly amusing It seemed that Valkyrie's leader was frustrated that others often associated her gang with the older and more famous one. Clearly it rankled that she was not unique.

The two lackeys at the door flinched and exchanged worried glances. Their boss was infuriated.

"Why do you want to help?" Tomoe yelled, standing up. "Why would you want to ensure my victory?"

"We have something in common." Natsuki said, obviously trying to calm the beast. "You and I. We both care for a certain someone."

"Where are you getting at?"

"Oh, I'm sure you know that Shizuru and I are close acquaintances – the rumours are free for all to hear." The rebel paused, relishing in the glorious moment of Tomoe's misery – the other clearly wasn't that close to the student council president. "But I've been told something by her… regarding you, actually. Do you want to know what?"

"Out with it already, Kuga!" Tomoe ordered, forgetting any type of formality. Natsuki didn't risk chuckling or in any way giving out her amusement. Nao wondered for how longer they needed to just sit there and talk claptrap.

"She doesn't give a damn about you." Natsuki leered, malice painting her features with dark shades of sadistic enjoyment. This was fuelled by Tomoe's expression. The air froze; Nao turned her stiffened neck to the leader of T.N.T., who was still chuckling darkly - the other gang boss was at the verge of leaping at them and maiming them with her bare hands. Time unfroze.

"Get them!"

Tomoe's roar was muffled by a sudden explosion outside. The two nameless Fuuka students didn't know what to do in the situation – it was even possible that they hadn't heard the order – and they were now helplessly looking at their commander. Tomoe paid them no heed; her head snapped to the clock on the wall to see if it was the appointed time for the ultimatum she had been given. It wasn't. By the time she had been pulled out of her initial shock by the second explosion, her two underlings were lying unconscious on the floor.

"What is the meaning of this?" She shouted angrily, but this was met with two smug smiles. Nao was rocking back on the chair while Natsuki casually took the weapons from the two unconscious students. The teal-haired freshman was now held at gun-point by none other than the Ice Princess, who tossed a pair of knuckle-dusters at Nao. The latter rejoiced and immediately put the metal weapons on her hands. She rather liked her newly-acquired toys.

"That would be Garderobe." Natsuki peeked from behind the blind, observing with the corner of her eye the situation downstairs. "Yup. Good lackeys – did exactly as I planned."

Tomoe had gotten tired of asking questions so instead just glared first at Natsuki and then at Nao, the later of whom shrugged and smiled patronizingly at her.

The two knuckle-dusters had a nice feeling to them – not too heavy, but also sturdy enough to serve as an assurance that Nao had a means to fight which wasn't a firearm. She pondered testing her skills with the make-shift weapons on Valkyrie's boss, but decided against it – she still hadn't been provoked enough... though she was really starting to get irritated at that girl. Tomoe was supposed to be smart, right? Then why hadn't she realized what the situation was yet?

"Garderobe shouldn't be here. They were supposed to come after a couple of hours!" Tomoe was protesting, waving her arms - but she ceased her frantic movements when Natsuki glared at her from behind the barrel of a gun. "Those fools are stupidly honest and proud! Why did they break their word?"

"They didn't. _You_ told them that the rules have been changed." Nao smiled cheerfully. "You're such a naughty girl, Tomoe-chan."

"That's impossible." Tomoe objected, her eyes frantically dashing between the two girls. "I did no such thing!"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Natsuki regarded her with annoyance. She was disappointed that the girl who had given her so much trouble was still clueless. It was frustrating that such a person had tricked her - even if that had been done unknowingly. She waited for a wave of shooting to quieten before continuing to speak. "You wrote a note to Nina Wang that you wanted to have a word with her. This, naturally, made her nervous – after all, she had been discovered. She therefore told her comrades that she would go to meet you alone and, predictably, they only agreed with the stipulation that they would go to assist her if she didn't return from the negotiations. Now that time limit has passed and Nina is still in 'your' custody."

"How did she know that the note was from me?" The logical inquiry came, sounding more like a snarl.

"You signed it," Natsuki replied stiffly. "Sending Shizuru all those hand-written cards along with the flowers wasn't so bright." Her victorious smirk was clearly visible across her face.

"She kept them?" Tomoe gasped, her shocked expression replaced by a silly half-smile. Natsuki grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes, trying with all her might to not lift up the gun and kill that insolent stalker. It took a lot of self control. T.N.T. still needed her.

"It's not wise to think with the place where your hands are usually stuck Marguerite." The leader of T.N.T. growled. "Look where it got you."

"Anyway," Nao quickly cut in, "your only chance to get out of this safely has disappeared. Now it's only a matter of time before everything else falls into place."

The leader of the Valkyrie gang was speechless. Not only had she been caught off-guard by Garderobe, but she had been tricked by Natsuki and Nao. She was unprepared for battle; half her forces still were on the other end of the city, since she hadn't called them back. Also, the gang members who were actually present weren't ready for a fight. The element of surprise was a huge factor, and had played an essential part in this whole farce.

Tomoe, however, was not ready to admit defeat.

"And now what?" She sneered at them. "You're just going to wait here until they come up to capture me? Then what? Are you going to say that you're here by accident? That you just happened to wander into these docks?"

"No." Natsuki smirked. "You kidnapped us, since I'm Shizuru's close friend and you harbour ill feelings towards me. And Nao," the rebel glanced at her comrade, "just happened to be with me. So you ordered her captured, as well."

"This is ridiculous," spat Tomoe, shaking with a fury which seemed unlikely to subside any time soon.

"I would say that it's very believable." Nao inspected her nails, deeming them more interesting than the cornered fuming gang leader. "You know that they think that this is T.N.T., right? And that you're Blackwood, hmm?"

"Shut up! Shut up!" Tomoe screeched, causing them to wince. "I swear that…"

"They're coming upstairs." Natsuki announced and moved away from the door, standing next to her accomplice. "Nao, your cheek."

"What?" Nao turned her head towards Natsuki, who instantly delivered a heavy slap on the younger girl's cheek. The force of this made her fall from her chair and onto the ground. Cradling her newly-forming bruise with one hand, Nao sprang from the ground with her other fist clenched in front her. Before she could begin sprouting insults, the leader of T.N.T. addressed her once again.

"Now," she put the gun on the table and Tomoe's eyes instantly fixed upon it. "Hit me in the face."

"With pleasure!" Nao roared and slammed her fist in Natsuki's lower jaw. The older girl stumbled back and bumped in the wall, slumping against it. Nao regarded her work with satisfaction, before her attention was drawn by a sudden click. She snapped her head towards the forgotten antagonist and gulped as she stared into the gun. It stared back.

"I don't know what this was all about, but you're obviously some kind of idiot." Tomoe let out a sick laugh, that was twisted by malicious pleasure. "Put your weapons away, Yuuki."

Nao dropped them in her pockets and despite the whole situation, smiled cheekily at Tomoe, receiving a glare in return. Tomoe however said nothing – it seemed that she didn't care much about the knuckle-dusters, as long as they weren't on Nao's hands.

"You're the idiot." Natsuki murmured, her jaw clearly hurting in the pronunciation of every syllable. She spat some blood on the floor. Natsuki was actually getting rather sick of getting beaten and bruised - however this time it was a necessary sacrifice.

"Silence!" Tomoe's mirth disappeared. "Now… you! Go and sit over…"

"Too late." The one who spoke was once again Natsuki. This was the last sound they heard before the door flew from its hinges. Nao was hit by it and lay groaning under it, cursing her bad luck. At least it wasn't as heavy as it actually looked.

"Don't move, Blackwood!" A female voice ordered, slightly wavering in its uncertainty.

"Like hell!" Tomoe fired her weapon and an anguished scream replied, followed by a few undistinguishable shouts. Nao and Natsuki couldn't really make them out - however what came after that they could clearly understand.

"Fire!" An enraged cry ordered, and the two girls on the floor were sure that this was the end of the leader of the Valkyries.

Nao crawled from under her wooden cover, coughing heavily, and instantly felt herself being lifted up. Instead of glaring at the people who had picked her up, she found herself staring at something else. Lime orbs fell upon Tomoe's blood-covered body. Before she could notice and remember more details of the mutilated body, she closed her eyes and turned her head away. She didn't want to look at Tomoe's face.

Kuga was giving an explanation to the people who had captured them – she could hear the made-up alibi being convincingly reproduced.

"I see."

The one who had spoken was a man. Nao turned her head towards the voice in search of its source. When her eyes found him, she was a bit taken aback, not expecting to see Lt Wang in a place like this.

"She's still breathing," another armed man announced. Natsuki threw a glance at the blonde girl in the arms of one of Garderobe's members. Yumemiya Arika flew in through the doors, panting heavily and looking frantic. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Ers-chan!"

* * *

Glossary:

*Advance sacrifice - a sacrifice** bid made before the opponents have had an opportunity to determine their optimum contract.

**Sacrifice - to deliberately bid over an opponent's bid, hoping that the cost of a penalty will be smaller than the value of opponent's presumably successful contract.


	18. Chapter 18

**_A/N: I don't know what to say, really. *is ashamed*Though I do hope that you are left pleased with this chapter after my infinite struggles with it and Crossy's marvelous editing powers. ^^ To all those, who continue to follow the story: thank you! Things are getting rather rough on my end and it'll be needless to say that I won't be that regular in my updates. Just warning. *sighs* I can't think of anything else to talk about. _**

**_Ah! There's this one thing! Can you give me your opinion on whether I should change the rating of the story to 'M'? No, no, you pervs! There's no sex! XD I'm just wondering if it's gotten too violent, or something... o.O I sure hope not._**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome. **

* * *

"Ers-chan! Ers-chan!"

"Find Nina!"

"Take Marguerite away!"

Everything around Nao was unfolding too fast for her to follow. She stood dumbly in the middle of the room, not sure what to pay attention to.

The grieving cries of Arika Yumemiya, who was being pushed away by the medics so that they could help the fallen blonde, were especially getting on Nao's nerves. Then there was the lieutenant giving orders to the other Garderobe members to thoroughly search the building for his daughter. Nao ignored those two things briefly in order to glance at a corner of the room, where Natsuki was quietly observing the chaos. The gang leader's eyes were scanning over the uniformed people's actions, finally setting on the place where Marguerite (or what they thought was left of her) lay. Shock and rage ran over the features of T.N.T.'s leader and Nao wondered with unease what caused those emotions. She unwillingly turned her head towards Tomoe.

Two Garderobe officers were kneeling next to her, checking her condition. What was notable was that her chest was still heaving and falling. Nao took a sharp breath - Tomoe wasn't dead, but merely wounded! The injuries wouldn't even be lethal ones, if they were treated soon enough. Sure, Tomoe was bleeding heavily, but that was something which could be taken care of by modern medicine – only her limbs had been damaged beyond repair. Nao noted with fear that those Garderobe shooters were pretty sharp. Natsuki had probably been thinking the same thing judging by her uncharacteristically emotional reaction.

Deciding that standing in one spot was a waste of time, Nao ventured to Natsuki's side in order to consult with her about the next steps of the plan. Everything was far from over.

"Kuga?" Nao leaned against the wall next to the T.N.T. leader, joining her in observing Garderobe's procedures.

"Ten more minutes." Natsuki whispered, careful to not be overheard. "If we can keep them here for ten more minutes we'll be able to carry out our Advance sacrifice* and…"

She left that sentence unfinished, but Nao could pretty much guess what Natsuki wanted to say. If even mere ten minutes passed without any help provided for Marguerite, then she would surely die. After Tomoe had done the perfect job of convincing Garderobe that T.N.T. had fallen, she was of no more use to Natsuki. Nao had to wonder, though: did Kuga really wish that much for Tomoe's death? Did she actually hate her with_ such _passion?

"Sure…" Nao trailed off, absent-mindedly watching the medics' struggles to keep the fallen blonde girl – Erstin, was it? - alive. In contrast to the Garderobe members, Tomoe had been quite merciless in shooting to kill – it was a miracle that the younger girl was still alive. Arika kept shouting her name, helplessly crying, being held back by Sergay. He had finished his responsibility as a lieutenant and was now fulfilling his duty as the informal leader of these girls.

"Stay put, Arika." He quietly ordered, his stern eyes not leaving the one, lying on the ground. "Let them do what they can for her."

"But Ers-chan! She…"

"Erstin will be…"

A medic suddenly turned towards them and shook his head, indicating that Erstin hadn't made it. This provoked anguished wails from Arika, and Sergay paled considerably.

"Make sure Blackwood survives." His command drowned out the young girl's cries. "When she has recovered, she will be put to justice."

Nao quickly reached out and firmly held Natsuki's shoulder. She was sure that if she hadn't done so the rebel would've leapt at Tomoe and finished her murder with her own two hands. They were both lucky that nobody was actually paying attention to them anymore – the twitch went unnoticed. Nao briefly peeked at Natsuki, who quietly watched the men take Tomoe away.

* * *

Mai was nervously tapping her foot, glancing at her wristwatch every now and then. She couldn't help but worry about her two friends currently in enemy territory, probably surrounded as they were by dangers of which even she had little understanding. She couldn't be vocal about her concerns though, even if she really wanted to talk with somebody about them - even if that somebody was Mikoto. Both of them had been tasked with guarding the truck trailer in which Nina Wang was held captive. Only a slight indication of who they were - like an anxious remark - would utterly ruin their plan. Natsuki had explicitly instructed them to keep Nina on the edge and in the dark until the leader decided otherwise.

Mai and Mikoto were to make especially sure that Nina was kept out of the fighting, since her mere presence could turn their strategy upside-down. Natsuki had told them exactly when she wanted the girl to be 'freed' - Mai and Mikoto needed to be very specific in the timing of their actions. It was always about timing with Natsuki. Mai sighed and let her lilac eyes roam the vast ocean.

They were alone, not far from the docks where Valkyrie's hideout was, waiting patiently for any sign of action. Mikoto was pacing around the trailer with her wooden Kendo sword at the ready, case strapped above her left hip. Mai mused that it was indeed a weird sight for a girl in a school uniform to be threading the streets like that, but then reasoned that this was _Mikoto_. Anything was possible for the feral freshman. At the moment said freshman was paying no attention to the angry cries coming from inside the truck. Obviously the imprisoned Nina had also heard the explosions, and was as much worried about her comrades as Mai was for her own. The compassionate second-year wanted to help her captive on hearing Nina's pleas to be let out to go to her friends' aid… however, they couldn't let her go just yet.

"First," Natsuki had said with a trace of a dark smile, "she needs to lose her marbles. Then, she'll be much easier to talk to."

Mai crouched quietly next to the trailer and fell into deep thought. Just a day ago she had been so happy upon hearing that her brother's operation had gone smoothly that she had forgotten what terrible big sister she was. For a moment she had felt like a normal teenager again – thinking what she would make Takumi to eat when he got back, how tight she would hug him and about how he would complain while wearing his sweet embarrassed smile. About how she would invite their friends over to their dorm room and have a small 'welcome back' party, and they would talk and laugh, glad that the young boy's health problems were over…

But then again, Natsuki would object to having other people in their room, because the risk was too great that they might find something by accident. And she had her current duties as the vice-president of their club, which automatically made her responsible for the success rate of their missions, or at least that's what Natsuki had told her. She thought so, too.

If something went wrong today, she wouldn't be able to face Takumi with an earnest smile. She couldn't afford to not do that for him. She was sad that she couldn't prepare more for her little brother's return, but the circumstances had pressed her to make decisions, which weren't in favour of her personal life. Maybe now, after the surgery and seeing that Takumi would be fine, she could probably tell him about her little adventures. Thinking more about it however, that would most likely simply put him in jeopardy and Mai didn't want that. Though… not telling him could also prove potentially risky… and she really didn't want to lie to him. Her life had gotten so confusing…

Mai sighed. Now all they could hear were the waves washing gently against the pier.

Suddenly Mikoto stopped moving, snapping her head towards the direction of the shipyard's building. This was barely visible from where they were standing, hidden as it was by other old constructions.

The smaller girl turned and dashed back towards Mai, grabbing her by the hand and (without an explanation) forcing her behind the trailer. Mai didn't ask what it was all about - she was very soon answered by the sound of a car's engine. After it died away they ventured out of their improvised cover, carefully looking around for other threats. It was again safe.

The only thing they saw for the next five minutes was the jet-boat which Natsuki had borrowed from Yamada earlier that day. The metallic vessel flashed in the bright sunlight. Mai and Mikoto also resigned themselves to being deaf from the rapid thumping that had once again resumed from inside the trailer. They knew that the real dangerous part of the plan began now – one in which more of their friends' lives were on the line.

* * *

Amongst the confusion of Garderobe's leading officers, Natsuki decided to seize the chance and quietly make her way out of the small office. She stepped easily over the unconscious forms of one of the guards she had knocked out earlier before stopping outside, roaming her eyes over the situation below. Bodies of both the Valkyrie gang's members and Garderobe's men lay scattered on the cold and hard cement floor.

_A sad way to meet one's end_, mused Natsuki. However, she didn't feel grief for those fools, who had simply walked the wrong path. The gangsters hadn't been strong enough to survive without being part of the pack, so they had ventured back in that dangerous world even after they had been mercifully freed by T.N.T.'s destruction of Kisame. When Tomoe had offered them another opportunity to continue their deeds, they had taken it.

The government's forces weren't a better bunch – if those people hadn't realized that they had been treated as expendable objects, they deserved their fate. Smith was simply using his subordinates to gain better knowledge of the organizations which weren't under his control. He didn't care how many of those people survived – he was interested only in the outcome. If his men were wiped out then he would need to put more effort in removing his enemies. And if not – well; in that case his men had just been doing their job. What Natsuki condemned was the submissive mentality of her enemies - she couldn't bring herself to respect them, even if their dedication was outstanding.

She leaned on the bars, making mental notes about every detail her eyes fell upon and that she deemed important. It wasn't going to be long before her own gang got here and the second dealing of the cards commenced.

_No,_ the cards had already been dealt …and Garderobe had made their first announcement. It was her turn.

Natsuki idly wondered if she was going to be forced to stay silent about this whole ordeal later. She also asked herself whether Wang was going to wrap his explanation about Tomoe in some sort of lie, or if he was going to simply inform them about the girl's true self, assuring the two Fuuka students that Smith's police had once again saved the day. Closing her eyes she tried to calm down a bit - she was burning with excitement about the upcoming fight. The anger from the fact that Tomoe had gotten away was slowly dissipating, replaced with slight worry for what might come. It seemed that Tomoe wasn't out of the game just yet.

Natsuki raised her hand to her face and traced a newly-forming bruise with her fingers. Her skin had been damaged as well and she winced. Sighing, she once again gripped the rails with her two hands. Then she bowed her head, gritting her teeth. The action hurt her jaw which caused her to reflect sourly on hr recent traumas. She was sick of getting hit in the face. Even when she felt a hand on her shoulder she didn't turn around to grant its owner any attention.

"You're shaking, Kuga-san." Sergay spoke. "If the experience was too much for you… I understand that the reaction to everything which happened today is uncontrollable fear, but I assure you that…"

"It's not fear." Natsuki cut him off with a quiet, unwavering voice.

"Excu-…?"

He never got to finish. A bullet was cruelly put straight between his eyes and his arm slumped down from Natsuki's shoulder. The girl didn't even bother glancing at Wang, who in his last moments staggered forwards to tip over the metal banister and plunge downwards. Natsuki lifted her gaze towards the ceiling and smirked at the glimpse of the shining telescopic sight of (probably) Aoi's sniper gun.

She sure was glad that the building was old – this had provided them with the option to position T.N.T. members up there. During the time in which Garderobe had been evaluating their losses, T.N.T. had used a sea-route to approach the shipyard, then sneak in and commence the second game. She had told the infiltrators to turn off the boat's engine and row when they neared the shipyard so that they wouldn't be heard. It seemed that this had worked and their presence had gone unnoticed. The handy equipment and hard training every T.N.T. member had undergone had once again paid off. Half of them had effortlessly infiltrated through the roof by climbing the east wall – the one facing the pier – and were now commencing the second attack.

Barely registering the surprised yelps of Garderobe's members provoked by their dead lieutenant, Natsuki rushed back into the office. The ones who were left in it and were either conscious or alive were Nao, Arika and the two medics who had tried to save that Erstin girl.

Nao was wearing an expression that bordered between astonishment and amusement, as if she couldn't decide what to feel. She hadn't liked the man from day one and had hoped to be able to keep her distance from him as long as he was on campus' grounds. The simple way in which he was removed from the whole scene seemed quite ridiculous to her. The two medics had been busy with handling the dead and injured, and hadn't seen a thing. Yumemiya as well had been too occupied with her own grief and misery to register what was happening around her - when she turned her head towards the destroyed door, she blinked in confusion at Natsuki.

"Se…Sergay?" Teary eyes met cold emeralds and her question went unanswered. She bolted upright and started for the exit. The second she passed by Natsuki, however, the older girl grabbed her arm and twisted it, forcing the younger to falter and gasp in pain.

"Kuga-senpai?" Arika whimpered, but Natsuki didn't bother to respond verbally and instead slammed her free hand on the smaller student's carotid artery. Arika's blue orbs rolled back and her body went slack in the rebel's arms. Not wasting her time with delicacy, Natsuki pushed the unconscious girl off and let her fall on the ground. She then turned her attention towards the medics, who were now pointing their weapons at her. Her eyes flickered in Nao's direction and a trace of a satisfied smile ran over her lips.

"Drop your toys, boys." Nao purred, making the young men turn their heads towards her, their guns still pointed at Natsuki. They paled a bit on seeing that they themselves had turned into targets. Nao smirked and rested her finger on the gun, the one which had changed so many owners this day.

"Don't even think of shooting." Natsuki commanded her tone hard and unbending. "By the time you press the trigger you'd be dead."

Their enemies made no move but to turn back to Natsuki and to tighten their grips around their guns. This action didn't rub the gang leader the right way and she searched Nao's face with a level gaze. When she locked eyes with the younger girl, she nodded almost unnoticeably. Nao saw. Her complacent smile was replaced with a perplexed scoff before realization hit her. The lost look she sent Natsuki almost caused the leader to loose her cool - for a moment Natsuki allowed herself to think that Nao wouldn't shoot, would let her die. It was not that she hadn't expected the first-year's hesitation, but for a second Natsuki felt betrayed and insecure. As if she was alone, and that it didn't matter that she had brought an ally with her on this dangerous task.

However Natsuki didn't let that dreadful emotion manifest itself in a cowardly way – she narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin, not paying attention to the distraught expressions of the ones aiming at her. The noises from below began to increase as more anguished cries and desperate shooting could be heard. This pressed the two young men to act and Natsuki watched their arms' muscles tightening underneath their dark clothes – the enemy was going to shoot.

"Nao!" She shouted half-angrily, half-peremptorily - and for a split second, she thought that she was a goner when her ears registered four or five shots. Her right hand shot up to cover her left arm's triceps where she had suddenly felt a sharp sting. Warm blood slowly oozed from the fresh wound, but she paid this no attention - such an injury counted as a very light one to her. Treating it later would be a good idea, though. But now…

The two Garderobe men were lying on the ground, twitching slightly but otherwise harmless. Nao still stood, taking deep shaky breaths, her trembling arms gripping the weapon. She was trying to cover her distress, however was failing miserably as her body language and lime orbs betrayed her completely.

Overcoming her own unwanted fright, Natsuki went quickly to her protégée and carefully took the weapon. Nao let it go and gave Natsuki a hostile glare, taking a defiant step… backwards.

"Happy now, Kuga?" Nao snarled, pointedly avoiding looking at the two men she had just shot. She would have more time to think about it later. Then again, she didn't really want to think about it much – it had already happened.

"Not exactly," responded Natsuki honestly, but didn't wait for a biting remark in return. She bent down and picked the medics' guns, discarding her empty one.

"Let's get out. T.N.T.'s fighting down below – we can't let them handle the survivors alone, now can we?"

Nao wordlessly nodded and followed Natsuki outside, both of them moving carefully along the balcony, crouching low. When Nao dared to tear her gaze away from Natsuki's back, she could see the action below. The first thing she noticed was that it seemed that Garderobe had 'cleaned up' their first fight, as she couldn't spot a single Valkyrie gangster alive. The second thing she realized - with a small dose of relief - was that with the surprise attack, Garderobe had lost a considerable amount of its forces and the remainder was continuing to decrease.

The baffled government men still couldn't figure out exactly where the shooting was coming from, as they were being sniped from different directions. They were therefore aimlessly shooting at everything they saw moving in the shadows, or thought they saw moving. If she had not previously known where the shooters were positioned (as she did, given that she had given the instructions only that morning), Natsuki admitted to herself that she would also be quite confused. The dark ceiling with its broad and sturdy beams provided good cover for her subordinates, and allowed them to change positions quite easily. For those who weren't afraid of heights, at least - but she had made sure that the only member of the team scared of high places had been in charge of driving the boat, and was even now guarding it.

A bullet flew past Nao's head and she hissed instead of the screeching which she actually wanted to do. Both of them – Natsuki as well as Nao - were firmly glued to the wall now, not too far from the stairs, and both had generally the same thoughts running through their minds.

"Kuga…" Nao drawled out in a low panic-stricken voice. "What do we do now?"

"We wait for the second part of our forces to come." Natsuki replied, loud enough to be heard over the gunshots. She handed Nao one of the guns she had taken. The younger girl hesitated, not accepting the weapon at first, provoking Natsuki to ask her what was wrong.

"I…" Nao swallowed, quite ashamed of what she was about to admit. "I may be the tiniest bit of an iota scared out of my freaking mind, Kuga. I don't know if I can do this."

Natsuki sighed. She understood Nao's feelings all too well, however they didn't have the time for such indecisiveness. Of course she had expected that her younger companion would fall in such a state of insecurity, but not in a crucial moment like this one - one in which they could be riddled with holes at any moment.

"Look at me." The leader of the gang ordered and her protégée complied, unwillingly and with a trace of shame. "Swallow those feelings and just be brave."

"Only that?" Nao bristled with anger.

"Only that." Natsuki shrugged and made a move to continue her descent of the staircase - but her sleeve was pulled and she stopped. "What?"

"How the hell can you be brave when you're terrified, you moronic mutt?"

"That's the only time one _can_ be brave, you stupid spider!" Natsuki bit back, however future retorts were prevented by a series of shots - probably produced by an assault rifle. What was more troubling was that the tidal wave of bullets was headed towards them… straight from bellow.

_Those bastards are shooting through the metal floor! _Natsuki thought, her eyes opened wide in shock. The enemies were unaware of their exact position, which was the only thing giving Natsuki and Nao a small advantage. Even so, Natsuki hadn't expected such a move – she most certainly hadn't thought that the metal was so thin that it could be penetrated by small-calibre bullets. However, holes left in the floor were too big to be normal bullets. If both of them wanted to stay alive, they had to…

"Run!" Natsuki shouted and bolted towards the stairs. Nao didn't need to be told twice. They both clicked on their guns' safeties and tucked the weapons away in the belts of their skirts. This was uncomfortable, but they had no choice.

Sprinting they reached the stairs, but slid to a halt when seeing that there were enemies at the bottom. These still hadn't noticed the two girls, however in the next instant they would turn around and most certainly kill them with no questions asked. Waiting for the snipers above to notice and deal with the threat was not an option, because by the time they fired Natsuki and Nao would be dead meat. With their path cut off, they had no choice but to create a new one themselves.

Split-second decisions had always come to Natsuki more naturally than all the planning and scheming she was forced to do by circumstance. When her head turned around and she spotted the nearest chain hanging from the ceiling, she had no doubt in what they should do. Grabbing Nao's hand, she pulled her to the banister.

The younger girl didn't even need to look to know what the gang leader wanted them to do - she mutely followed the unspoken instructions. At the same time, they stepped onto the low banister and pushed off with all the strength in their legs. Natsuki had apparently forgotten to let go of Nao's wrist, the freshman realised fearfully only when they were airborne. As both of them extended their free hands towards the rust-eaten metal, however, Natsuki's reach was greater and she was the one to grip the chain's hook.

The momentum from the jump made them swing and speedily sail through the air. Natsuki's sweaty palms and the injured left arm with which she was hanging on the hook, were, as the girls realized shortly, big miscalculations on their part. When the chain had reached the limit of its kinetic movement, it began swing back towards the balcony. The sudden jerk caused Natsuki to wince from the pain – she was supporting both herself and Nao… and was not doing such a good job. For a second Natsuki panicked as she felt her fingers slipping… then the absence of the metal in her palm… but then she remembered her initial reason for wanting to use the hook for their escape. The half-finished bow construction was not too far under them.

Nao's screams when they fell landed on deaf years, as Natsuki frantically twisted her body so that she wouldn't slam onto a very dreadful-looking jutting metal pole. Her attempts were awarded by a painful landing on a flat metal plate, which didn't hold their weight for very long and gave way seconds after. They didn't even have the time to release their grunts of anguish and discontent as they collapsed (along with their now destroyed support) once again onto another metal shelf.

Nao lay on her back for some time, not daring to move for fear of discovering that she had broken something. When she finally gathered up the courage to make an attempt, she winced at the dull pain of her whole throbbing back. Relief washed over her being though when she discovered that she could feel and move all of her limbs. Now thinking more clearly, she felt that the next step was obvious. It was to fulfil the sudden desire to search for Kuga and beat the living hell out of her for making Nao go through all the suffering of the past few weeks; today's torture included.

She slowly sat up, her ears ringing and head spinning. Knowing full well that if she let herself rest she wouldn't be able to move afterwards, Nao stood up on two wobbly feet. Opening her mouth, she took a deep, shaky breath and was about to let it out in an enraged screech… when she was stopped by the sight of Natsuki struggling up mere feet away from her. Their eyes met and they looked at each other in a silent form of conversation. The mute communication was cut off by Natsuki pulling out her gun and removing the safety.

_If she can still think about fighting, then she's okay, too_. Nao silently reasoned - however she made no indication that she was going to do anything at all. Nao just silently followed the elder's actions with her lime orbs.

Without giving herself a breather, Natsuki moved towards a position from which she could see better the situation outside. The holes in the construction didn't expose much, but didn't limit her vision either. She was worried that their last outrageous act had drawn unwanted attention, but her anxiety was calmed by the sight of comrades showering enemies with bullets. Their cover-fire prevented Garderobe members from nearing the unfinished bow in which Natsuki and Nao were using as a refuge.

And now things kept getting better and better.

A small smile crept on Natsuki's lips – the rest of her forces had arrived. Now there were a total of fifteen of her T.N.T. members inside the building, which meant that they had almost equal man-power to Garderobe. The opposing group now had nobody to lead them, had no plan, and had been taken by surprise. They simply hadn't been ready for interference from a third party. Natsuki chuckled at the thought of how much shock she had sown, when her enemies saw T.N.T.'s emblem on the clothing of the newly arrived fighters. The newcomers didn't stand dumbly at the door either, didn't wait to be shot, but instead scattered.

Natsuki was relieved that they had listened to Blackwood's orders and hadn't decided to play heroes by diving head-first into the cross-fire. The number of flying bullets wasn't the problem in their case – what was tricky was that anybody could shoot from anywhere at any given time and opportunity. But she and her gang had the upper hand – they knew where their own trumps were situated and didn't have to worry about being sniped at from above. T.N.T. was in control of the winning of tricks, whereas the Garderobe members were falling down like crimson autumn leaves, swept by a tempestuous wind of lead.

Nao had silently crouched on the ground, her back pressed to a metal plate, taking deep breaths to calm both her racing heart and her frantic thoughts. She snuck a glance at the spying Kuga, but seeing that she wouldn't be granted a speck of attention reverted to her previous object of interest – the broken glass shards on the floor. Her ears were deaf from the shooting, and she thought that she would be happy with just sitting there and doing nothing until the whole ordeal was over.

But Nao also knew that such an easy solution wouldn't be presented to her - even if she begged on her hands and knees for it. Luck simply hadn't been on her side the last couple of years, and was sure not going to visit her now. The cold weapon tucked in her skirt's belt pressed to her skin and reminded her silently that it would be better if she took it out to use it for her own protection. Nao ignored the gun's rude reminder. It was quite illogical to not use it, but the gun was something she wasn't very accustomed to. Besides it seemed they were winning the fight, and she and Kuga were hidden from the enemies; she wasn't in any immediate danger. Or so she thought.

"Kuga!" She called out to Natsuki, who reluctantly turned her attention away from the fight. "How's it going for us?"

"As expected." Natsuki grumbled, displeased that she had missed a perfect target – the man had been alone and with his back turned towards her - she wouldn't have given away their position had she fired. "They're gradually losing."

"Any casualties on our part?" Nao stood up and peeked through a crack in the metal, looking around a bit. She only saw Garderobe's men and guessed that this meant that the plan was going rather smoothly. When she didn't receive a reply, she readied herself to make a biting comeback. It died in her throat, when she registered two distinct gunshots.

Next thing Nao knew, she was lying with her face pressed to the cold floor and nose throbbing from impact on the hard surface. The deadly sound echoed in her ears and bounced inside the hollow metal construction.

* * *

Glossary:

*Advance sacrifice - a sacrifice** bid made before the opponents have had an opportunity to determine their optimum contract.

**Sacrifice - to deliberately bid over an opponent's bid, hoping that the cost of a penalty will be smaller than the value of opponent's presumably successful contract.


	19. Chapter 19

**_Hi there! *waves* I hope I haven't made you wait too long for the latest chapter and if I have - please accept my humble apologies. Though fear not! I can see the end of my torture near - just two months to go and I'll be free to write as much as I want to. ^^ This actually means that most of my exams would be over and that I'll be able to dedicate more of my time to finishing this story. *.* And it's finally getting to the good part... Ah, life's so cruel sometimes. Anyway, this chapter was once again beta'd by Crosswood, so kudos to my Beta of Awesomeness. Any mistakes/typos are entirely my fault, since I probably have overlooked a thing or two. Maybe... I hope not... o.O If any questions arise, don't hesitate to ask. The same goes if you just want to say 'WTH did you do that for?' or something among those lines. I don't bite, you know. ^^' _**

**_I wish you a pleasant read~! :3_**

**Disclaimer: Mai-HiME/Otome belong to Sunrise. **

* * *

Nao blinked a few times, not completely sure as to what had led to her current position – flat on the ground underneath Natsuki. She turned her head in order to get a better view of… whatever was going on, actually.

What Nao did know was that her nose hurt, and that she couldn't move much due to the added weight on her back. She could tell it was Natsuki on top of her; dark strands of hair were covering her own shoulders and tickling her face. Otherwise, she couldn't detect anything wrong, except that Kuga's back was pressed to her own. She wondered briefly how that had happened – one would think it more reasonable for Natsuki to have chosen a different… approach, other than to push her on the floor. Not that Nao was bothered by _how_ it had come to this; what she wanted to know was _why_.

When her vision cleared a bit, Nao was finally able make out a boot mere inches from her face. She took a guess that the boot was attached to a leg, which for its part probably belonged to some body. That somebody was most likely dead. The foot was poking out from… wait. Was that hole there before?

At least she hadn't been tackled by an enemy; that thought put her at ease for the moment. What troubled her more was that Kuga was making no move to get up from off of her. Nao made an effort to speak, but gave up. She could feel Natsuki breathing, which reassured her the elder was still alive. When finally the weight was lifted from her she silently rolled to her side after which she turned towards the other girl.

Natsuki was crouching with her gun still pointed at the place where the dead person lay. Neither of them dared to fully stand up, or indeed move at all; their breathing was the only thing which they could hear beside the occasional shots from outside their hiding place. The next gunshot they heard (too close for comfort) brought them out of their stupor, and they quickly straightened up - or in Nao's case scrambled to her feet.

"What was that about?" Nao asked, tossing a glance at Natsuki. She was still a bit shaken and confused as to what had happened exactly.

Natsuki briefly regarded her accomplice, quickly inspecting her to see if the younger girl was wounded. It didn't seem so, which made her inwardly sigh in relief. The only damage done was to Nao's nose - most likely broken – nothing which could not be fixed by a skilled doctor. It wouldn't even leave a trace if handled properly, and Natsuki was sure that if they asked doctor Sagisawa to do the job she would make the adjustments just fine. Natsuki barely held in a snicker at the sight of Nao's bloodied face; justice had been served and her jaw had been avenged! Nao needn't have hit her so hard back there, especially since she herself had held back so much.

The gang leader was silent to the question however, deeming an explanation unneeded at the moment. What was important was that they had avoided the threat, even if it was by the skin of their teeth. When Natsuki had seen the glint of metal a few feet above Nao, she had reacted without much thought - moving to push the younger girl out of the way. If it had come to it, she would have gotten a better view at the enemy that way, and would've had the opportunity for a clear shot. What she hadn't predicted - and which had genuinely surprised her - was that Nao had tripped and fallen face-first from the shove, unbalancing Natsuki in the process. Her lightning-speed leap to push Nao out of the way had basically resulted in an awkward tackle. This unexpected turn of events hadn't prevented her from firing at where she thought their enemy was, however, and Natsuki was an excellent shot. She squeezed the trigger twice, and the body of the surprised Garderobe member had plummeted towards the ground.

That Garderobe thug had positioned himself on top of the construction, probably thinking up there he could aim better and take down an enemy or two without the risk of being spotted from the ground. The shadows thrown from the crooked metal polls had probably hidden him from the snipers in the ceiling, and were most likely the reason why he had been still alive when Natsuki and Nao had fallen in.

What broke his death-fall now was the rusty floor, which collapsed under the acceleration that gravity had given the body. Age, and the fact that the metal hull was ill-kept, spoke the final word - a huge hole now gaped far too close to the two girls.

After making sure that the man wasn't a threat anymore, Natsuki got up, still wary of another potential attack. However, she figured, if there had been another person in there with them he would've struck already; seeing that they were both indeed still alive such a possibility could be ruled out.

"Nothing." She answered the earlier question at long last, making Nao raise a brow.

"You just like jumping me?" Nao inquired, her sarcasm kicking in. "My, Kuga! I'm flattered. But next time try to be gentler."

"Shut it." Natsuki retorted flatly, sharply turning to hide her faint blush. She headed towards the bigger hole in the metal construction and would've stomped when doing it, but knew that it would most likely cause another collapse; she decided against it at the last moment. Nao followed suit, trotting almost merrily behind her. It seemed like even her broken nose couldn't affect her nature as an irremediable irritant.

"Hasn't Fujino taught you manners?" She continued taunting, speaking through her injury with a nasal twang (which didn't seem to bother her at all). "Do you pounce all the girls you like with such bestiality?"

"Nao…" Natsuki growled, low and threatening. This went unnoticed.

"I know that you're kinda smart," Nao carolled viciously, "so it shouldn't be new to you that 'hitting on somebody' isn't as literal as the expression suggests."

"If you don't shut up…"

"And might I add that next time you decide to do that, I wouldn't mind some foreplay…"

"What?"

"…as it adds to the excitement. Well, it _is_ exciting to do it in the middle of a battlefield…"

"Exciting…?" Natsuki echoed.

"… in an old crumbling hull…"

"This is a _**bow**_…"

"… and during the carnage outside, take…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Natsuki roared, her voice rising to unimaginable (for Nao) new heights. The younger girl flinched back, but nevertheless smirked in victory.

"Kruger!"

The shout made them freeze in their respective places. In their banter neither of them had noticed that they were now standing dumbly in front the big hole, as if waiting to be shot down like animals. Luck had once again graced them though, as no enemy attack followed - instead they were greeted only by their comrades. Some of them descended from the ceiling via the conveniently hanging hooks, swinging on them to land on the balconies. Natsuki mentally began counting the members of her team – the only ones who weren't there were the boy who was guarding the boat, and Chie, Mai, and Mikoto. The last two had a separate task, which wasn't of any less importance to the mission. Natsuki noted (with a frown) that three of her gangsters were wounded - though she could see that they were smiling from behind their masks, which meant that their injuries weren't that serious. Searching the small group until her eyes met Aoi's, Natsuki waved her over. The girl instantly obliged, jumping over to stand next to Natsuki, silently waiting for further instructions.

"Request communication with Blackwood." Natsuki spoke clearly, so that all could hear. "We should hear his next orders."

"Through which line?" Aoi inquired.

Natsuki paused a second before answering. "Seventh."

_Seventh?_ Nao lifted a brow at the notorious rebel. Did this mean that she had at least seven possible outcomes set out?

Aoi nodded and spoke in her small device, asking Chie (through an appropriate code) to play Blackwood's seventh recording. During that brief time that the instructions were given, Aoi's eyes never left Natsuki's face. After the recording had finished playing, she turned back towards the rest of the group.

"The injured should be escorted to doctor Takamura's clinic as quickly as possible. The rest are to head for campus, using the usual path. Kruger is ordered to tend to the situation with Nina Wang."

Only nods followed the commands - the T.N.T. members hurriedly sprang once again to action. The ones who were whole and uninjured helped their wounded comrades towards Garderobe's abandoned vehicles. Only two people of the whole group could drive, but they didn't need more than that for their quick escape. Natsuki left these arrangements to Aoi, while she herself headed back up the stairs, taking Nao with her.

Natsuki was lucky; Yumemiya hadn't woken up by the time they ascended the stairs and had entered the office once again. Natsuki waited for all of the gang members to leave the building before she knelt down next to the unconscious girl and rudely shook her awake.

Arika blinked a few times, blue eyes blurry and unseeing, brightening, however, the moment she met Natsuki's stern gaze. Her next reaction was to abruptly bolt upright in panic, which provoked Nao into a series of amused sniggers.

"What…?" Was the first word which came stumbling out of poor confused Arika's mouth - but she closed it on seeing the medics' dead bodies. She attempted to speak again. "Kuga-senpai… you…"

"Get up." Natsuki ruthlessly cut Arika off, not even pretending to care about what the younger had begun (with apparent difficulty) to articulate. The gang leader didn't want to waste more time in maundering about this building, since Smith would most likely send an investigation team soon, and she certainly wasn't keen on waiting for it to arrive.

Arika regarded her with hostility – an emotion rather unfitting for her, as she had created for herself the lasting image of a carefree... young lady. The young lady quickly swung her fist at the crouching Natsuki, but what her punch connected with was only air. The older girl had pushed Arika's hand past her, barely having to move at all. In the next instant, Natsuki swiftly moved behind Arika and grabbed her tightly by the collar, dragging her up to stand on her feet (maybe choking her a bit in the process).

The girl struggled in the tight grip, only managing to cut off more of her oxygen supply. She finally gave up her futile attempt to break free, probably noting that if she jerked more she would surely do more damage to herself than she would move toward getting out of her predicament. Once she had calmed down, her eyes darted between the dead medics and Erstin, after which they settled on a smug-looking Nao.

The red-headed freshman was waiting by the door in her usual casual pose, seemingly untroubled by the gruesome background.

"Are we going, Kuga?" Nao raised one brow in an act of impatience. "The stench is killing me."

Natsuki regarded her accomplice with an evaluating gaze and nodded. She then shoved Arika towards the door, making the younger girl stumble forwards. The gang leader didn't deem it necessary to put any sort of restraints on Arika's hands – as long as Natsuki didn't let her out of her sight Arika had no chance of escape.

They descended the stairs, Nao walking at the front while Arika followed her. Her arm was firmly held by Natsuki, who walked slightly behind the Garderobe member. In this fashion they crossed the battlefield, Arika throwing distressed looks over all of her fallen comrades. Natsuki noted that the usually energetic first-year was trembling, but when she sneaked a glance at her face she noted that Arika was not crying. Even though she looked at the edge of a mental collapse, her baby-blue eyes were refusing to pour out all the tears which were surely welling up along with her crushing sentiments of loss and helplessness. T.N.T.'s leader made sure that they didn't pass by Sergay Wang's body, because she was a hundred percent sure that if they made that mistake Arika would no longer be so easily controllable.

At that moment the younger girl was moving without any protests - mostly due to the heavy veil of emotions in her mind, which would be sure to clear once she saw the deceased lieutenant. Her grieving would inevitably be replaced by rage and then she would become unpredictable. Natsuki wasn't keen on dealing with an unpredictable violent teenager. She liked how Arika was at the moment – fearful and not entirely comprehending what was going on. Sure, later she would put up quite the fight when she realized what had happened, but now her thought process was stuck in the mud – just the state Natsuki wanted it to be in.

The trio exited the gloomy building through the hole where the door had once been, and immediately narrowed their eyes against the light of the setting sun. Nao shielded her lime orbs and blinked a few times, cursing the darkness inside which she had gotten used to.

With a frown, she also discovered that she had lost track of time. From the sun's position she made a guess that it was around five or six in the evening. How had the time passed so quickly, she wondered?

Without stalling Natsuki urged them to get a move on – they were all going to be in big trouble if they didn't. The ex-Valkyrie gang's hideout was left behind in no time, and the trio hurriedly moved towards their new destination. The three of them were completely silent on this trip; even, Natsuki noted with pleasure, _the_ Yumemiya Arika. It seemed that her shock was indeed great – this made things far simpler. For Natsuki at least. Her emerald eyes fell upon a truck's trailer not so far in the distance. When the small group neared, Mai and Mikoto emerged from behind it.

Mai, by default, was looking worriedly at them while Mikoto just waved cheerfully. The youngster seemed completely oblivious as to the seriousness of the whole situation. Natsuki and Nao simultaniously thought about how much they liked that in the small feline-like girl. Her antics always served to put them a bit at ease, showing that not everything in their world was doom and gloom. The two newly-arrived T.N.T. members nodded their greetings to their comrades and went to the doors of the truck's trunk without delay. Arika was still being held firmly, although she didn't look likely to make any moves to attempt trouble.

The five girls stood in front of the securely shut doors of the big metal truck. Mai, Mikoto and Nao awaited further instructions, while Arika stared blankly at her feet, having switched to the behaviour of a lifeless doll.

"After you two open the doors." Natsuki addressed Mai and Mikoto in her customary leader tone. "You …"

Natsuki abruptly ceased talking, suddenly realising she didn't have a code name for Mai, since the red-head didn't usually come on missions. Her friend usually stayed with Chie at the club room, helping out with whatever she could. Natsuki had once taken her on a gang-extermination 'trip' but hadn't really talked to her, since back then they hadn't actually needed to use words – the whole ordeal had been over in a mere instant. That didn't change the fact that Mai had been forced to defend herself and had killed a person- an act which had left a big scar on her kind and caring soul. Natsuki had decided then that she wouldn't put her best friend through something like that again. Even with that day's fighting, Natuski had chosen to put Mai in the safest position possible – the gang leader still needed as many people as possible, so leaving Mai out hadn't been an option.

This timely recollection, however, didn't help her with her current predicament. She couldn't actually use Mai's name out of fear of being overheard by someone other than their two captives. Of course, if they dithered about and were seen, it would then have done them no good in hiding their names. Natsuki stared at Mai, perplexed, not fully understanding why she was so worried. This was a silly situation…!

"What about Mai?" Mikoto tilted her head questioningly.

"Problem solved." Natsuki gritted through her teeth, rubbing the bridge of her nose tiredly with her free hand. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter now. Never mind. Just open the doors."

The hinges turned with a screech and if Nao hadn't reacted fast enough, the lot of them would've been left one hostage short. The furious Nina struggled vigorously to free herself from Nao's grip, but her classmate wasn't all that impressed with the attempts to break free. Nao pushed her back inside the truck, causing Nina to unwillingly stumble and fell. Nao jumped inside as well, not waiting for Natsuki to order anything.

T.N.T.'s leader shoved the now more lively-looking Arika inside and then also climbed in. With a motioned at Mai to follow, her friend entered too, and Natsuki told Mikoto to close the truck's trailer once again. Complete darkness engulfed them.

Nao didn't know where anybody was in the small space – it was suddenly a case of waiting for the others to speak in order to estimate their positions.

"What is the meaning of this?" Nina demanded, and Nao silently cursed. The echo prevented her from pin-pointing the exact place where the speaker was standing. She relied on her memory to roughly recall where everybody had been standing when they had been deprived of the sunlight.

"Garderobe lost." Natsuki's husky voice resounded. "All your comrades are dead, except for Yumemiya Arika."

A shocked silence followed the cold statement. During it Nao could practically hear Nina's frantic thoughts spiralling towards the inevitable question, which came next.

"Father…?"

The single word made Nao grit her teeth and swallow hard. She was glad that the others couldn't see her expression, as she would most likely be very embarrassed by the involuntary display of sympathy. They had killed a girl's father after all, along with many other people.

_W__hat's your face at the moment, Kuga? _

"Dead." Came the flat response.

"How?" Nina choked out.

"He was shot, naturally."

"What's natural about that?" This time the shout came from Arika. "Neither he nor Ers-chan deserved to die!"

Natsuki's voice was as cold as steel. "They followed Smith. Why should I feel sympathy towards them?" That brutal logic continued on from this with barely a pause. "That man used all of you. Is it not your own fault that you listen to him?"

"All of us were following the law!" Nina argued back.

"And look where that brought you. Don't you think that something might be wrong with the law, if so many people perished because of it?"

"It wasn't the law's fault – it was T.N.T.'s!" Arika once again cried out. Nao winced at the girl's loud voice and at the echo from the enclosed space. Natsuki waited for it to quiet down before resuming.

"T.N.T. represents all the flaws in our city's government. Would there be such a group if everything was as perfect as you present it?" The relentless answers in the form of questions continued. The two young captives didn't say anything in reply, and neither did their captors. Natsuki waited patiently for the girls to make the next move.

Nao hadn't been really sure why the gang leader had chosen this conversation to be held under such conditions, but as it unfolded she began to slowly understand the reason. Even she was beginning to grow nervous from the ominous atmosphere, and she was practically perfectly safe at the moment seeing as how it was her group in control. She couldn't imagine Arika and Nina's fright, considering all the mental stress they had been put through in the past few hours. Their fragile emotions were being cruelly toyed with, and Nao was certainly they were slowly succumbing to despair and helplessness.

"Who are you people?" Arika asked, still keeping the toughness in her voice. "You weren't with T.N.T., so what were you doing in that shipyard?"

Nao could practically picture Kuga smirking at her prey. This image prompted her to wonder why a person like Tokiha Mai hadn't already made a move to terminate her friend's taunting. After all, she was the most caring individual Nao had the luck (or the misfortune) to be acquainted with – the first-year would have thought Mai sure to speak up sooner or later. In fact, Nao was slightly perplexed as to why Natsuki wanted Mai to be present during this whole conversation.

"But we are with T.N.T." Natsuki responded to Arika.

_Yup, she's gloating__, _Nao decided, just by hearing Kuga's voice.

"Then why weren't you…?" Arika's question went unfinished. She was probably wondering how to phrase her inquiry –there were so many things to be asked and she couldn't decide which of them should go first.

Natuski seized the silence. "What made you think that you were after T.N.T. in the first place?"

"There's no way we were wrong!" Arika began, "The evidence…" but this was cut off by a sombre Nina.

"The evidence was inconsistent."

Nao whistled quietly. So the Wang girl wasn't as dumb as her friend, who couldn't comprehend that they had been wrong the entire time. The quick connections that Nina had made impressed Nao slightly, since she had expected that they would have to explain to both of them the entire situation. However…

"What… do you mean, Nina-chan?" Arika stuttered again. Nao could actually feel sympathy towards Nina, seeing how patient and tolerable she must have been with her boon companion.

"Kuga-senpai, are you saying that this entire time we have been chasing a gang entirely unrelated to T.N.T.?" Nina's voice trembled, as she already knew the truth.

"So you _can_ think for yourself." Natsuki responded evenly. "Your lot jumped to conclusions far too quickly and this made you take all the wrong decisions. Though I _am_ quite grateful to you for wiping out the entire Valkyrie gang, save for its leader."

"Why are we still alive? What do you intend to do with us?"

"I don't know." Natsuki's tone indicated that she had probably shrugged. "You tell me. Are you valuable enough to be kept alive?"

"Natsuki!" Mai finally interfered angrily. "At least leave those two be!"

Natsuki's voice was level as she reasoned with her friend. "They know too much."

Nao's eyes widened. Her fists and jaw clenched, as she tried to calm herself down. This pattern of persuasion was all too familiar – she recalled her own recruitment, and thought about the similarities with this situation. So that was why Natsuki had wanted for Mai to be inside with them! Nao asked herself if Mai was consciously participating in this whole farce, or if she was being skilfully led into playing the role of the 'saviour'. Knowing Mai's nature and Natsuki's schemes, it was probably the latter - but Mai was sure to have figured out by now her best friend's intentions and methods. That could only mean that she had given up on going against Natsuki; that in fact she had decided to play along anyway.

"What do you reckon we do then, Vice-Prez?" Nao joined the exchange at last. She didn't like staying idle when such important events were unravelling before her very eyes… figuratively speaking. She still could not see a single thing.

"I think that we all know what's going to happen at the end." Mai sighed, discouraged - her response answered Nao's earlier questions about her behaviour.

"Get on with it already!" Arika shouted, and the sounds they heard next were obviously from the girl's attempts to stand on her feet. The shuffling soon ceased and all of them were silent, until Natsuki spoke up.

"What do you want, Yumemiya Arika?"

"Revenge for Sergay, Ers-chan and all of our friends!"

"Who do you want to exact this revenge on?"

"T.N.T.!" Arika heatedly responded. "It's your people's fault that they're dead!" "Really?" Natsuki mocked. "What if I told you that it was Marguerite to blame? What then?"

"Why should we believe you? Why would we think that it was her fault?" Nina asked with hostility.

"Because she killed that Erstin girl, and it was one of her men's bullets that ended the Lieutenant's life."

Nao knew that the last part was a lie, but said nothing. After all what Natsuki wanted them to think didn't necessarily need to be the exact truth. The Ice Princess didn't stop with just that shocking statement, however.

"Well? And you let her get away. Whose fault is it now?"

"But you… all the others…" Arika weakly ventured.

"Were you close to any of them? Did you know their reasons? Who were they? Why did they follow Smith?" Natsuki continued her barrage of questions, mercilessly pointing the flaws in Garderobe's ranks.

"Even so, those were lives." Nina stated with a steely voice. Obviously Natsuki had angered her, and she was trying to keep her rage in by maintaining her chilly demeanour.

"Did you really care for any of them? And aren't T.N.T's members also living human beings?"

Nao snorted in an attempt to hide the fact that she was choking with laughter – Kuga was hitting her opponents below the belt. She had done the same with Nao, of course, but seeing others being put under similar (if not harsher) treatment made her feel less foolish.

"I… we…" Nina stumbled for words. "We never intended this." She finally said weakly, before continuing with more confidence. "We only wanted what was due to us – our lives were ruined by the gangs! We wanted justice!"

"Congrats." Nao chirped with a pretence of light-heartedness. "You got your justice."

She felt that Nina had shifted her position – the air had moved slightly, and the shuffle of the clothes scraped across her senses, which were now used to the darkness. The freshman kneeled and extended her arm in the approximate direction she assumed that Nina was. Her palm made solid contact with the fabric of the school uniform on the girl's shoulder. Nina tensed in Nao's grip, but she made no vain attempts to struggle away from her captor's hold.

"You want us to join you." Nina stated in a shaky voice. "You want information on Smith."

"No." Natsuki denied. "You want to join us. You want to give us information and take revenge on Smith."

Nao recalled one of her conversations with Natsuki, which had taken place not too long ago. Nao had asked how T.N.T. had gotten so strong and influential with such a small number of gangsters. The two of them had talked for a while, but finally Natsuki had espoused blackmail as the method which worked best on most occasions.

"Obtaining information about your enemies and playing with their minds is what makes us so fearsome." Natsuki had explained with uncharacteristic patience. "If you know what weakness to exploit, you've got the bastards by the balls. And when you tighten that grip, their minds and corrupted hearts will follow you – whether they like it or not."

Nao stepped back from her emotions and looked at the present situation again: was Natsuki was trying to suggest the idea that Nina and Arika should be the ones feeling guilt for following brainlessly Smith's orders?

"If you had stopped for a moment and actually used your heads, this could've been avoided." T.N.T.'s leader continued speaking. "We wouldn't have been forced to fight one another."

"Oh, really now?" Nina bit back. Nao sensed her tense beneath her quelling hand, as if she wanted to pounce at her enemies. "Then what were you doing there in the first place? Why did you fight us?"

"Because you were the enemy." Natsuki responded. "You were Smith's hounds. Are you his now?"

"We've never been his!" Arika exclaimed offended. "We've always been Sergay's!"

"That… sounds so awfully wrong." Nao commented quietly, but everybody heard her.

"And now that he's dead?" Natsuki quickly asked before anybody could respond to Nao's remark.

"We'll follow nobody."

"Just the three of you?"

"The… three?"

"You think we didn't know about Irina Woods?" The question was asked with such ridicule that even Nao felt stupid… and she was actually aware of the secret foreign member of Garderobe.

"Where is she?" Arika immediately demanded.

"She's alive and well, together with our dear Hallard." Nao replied nonchalantly. "I think that she's listening to our conversation at this very moment, actually."

"Yes, she is." Mai's long forgotten voice rang in their ears. "Last I was informed, she was throwing a fit, but Hallard said she… took care of it. Woods-san is unharmed, though."

"Will she remain in that state?" This time Nina was the one who voiced concern for her and Arika's mutual friend.

"This depends entirely on you two."

Nao knew what Natsuki had meant with that statement. She'd just practically told them that if they didn't agree to trade information with T.N.T., then they would be responsible for another death of a person close to them. This Irina was the embodiment of their last hope to be able to sleep at night; their final chance to leave here knowing that they had managed to save at least one of their friends' lives. Nina was taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Nao was sure that Arika was doing the same in an attempt to clear her mind and thus make the right decision. But they were waging a useless battle; lucid judgement was nearly impossible to make in the circumstances under which Natsuki had put them.

The outcome was apparent.

Nao smirked. _Guilt makes the wheels of submission turn, huh? _


	20. Chapter 20

_**Hello! It's been a long time, hasn't it? *nervous laugh* But let's not waste your time with my stupid excuses and get to the point. And today I'll have to inform you of something very sad: if you plan to continue reading this story, you should expect for it to get worse. The reason for this is that my Beta of Awesomeness Crosswood has a life and a pretty exciting one at that! She's a prospering young scholar and she mustn't get distracted with my writing attempts. I want to once again thank her for all that she's done for me and for this story. *bows***_

_** So I won't lie to you, dear readers; I don't know if I'll do a good job without her. I'll give it my best shot, though! :3 Any comments are welcomed, but I would like to ask you to be constructive in your criticism. Also, feel free to point out spelling errors or things that don't make sense. I don't bite! (I just do martial arts, but that's about it. xD)  
**_

_**From now on I'll try to post on a regular basis, but with university starting and me being a first-year... Well, I'm not promising anything, however I'll try to do my best. Now, on with the chapter! And thank you for your support given in reviews, 'watch's and faves! I'm glad that there are still people, who read this!**_

**Disclaimer: Mai-HiME/Otome are not mine!**

* * *

Escorting Arika and Nina back to the campus was easy; so easy, in fact, that Natsuki and Nao began to calm down a little, despite the excitement of the evening.

During the silent trip nobody dared utter a word of inquiry about what was going to happen next; not even Arika or Mikoto. Mai was sombrely trailing after the group, on the look-out for any potential danger. She was not very keen on her current task, and a few unreadable looks were thrown at her, until finally Natsuki simply motioned for Mikoto to switch places with her to guard Nina for the time being.

Nao glanced questioningly at the exchange, but said nothing. She sighed inwardly – behaving like nothing had happened was going to be very difficult. However, if she let herself ponder on the events of the past few hours there was the high probably she wouldn't be able to even keep walking. She concluded that at the moment it would be a good thing she focused on guarding Arika.

While Nao was making every endeavour to prevent her internal turmoil manifesting itself externally, another person was attempting to do the same. Natsuki slowed down her pace until it matched Mai's and made sure that nobody saw the puzzled look with which she regarded her friend. The expression itself appeared odd on the gang leader's face, especially considering what had transpired under her guidance that day. That cold demeanour was replaced with an uncharacteristic display of sincere emotions, which were reserved only for those close to her.

"What's wrong?" She whispered lowly, leaning slightly towards Mai. The latter stayed silent for a while before finally replying.

"I'm not sure that you gave it your all." Mai glanced at Natsuki – no, at T.N.T.'s leader – with unhidden reproach. "I think you could've done a better job."

Natsuki scoffed. "What makes you say that?" She said, keeping her eyes on her friend.

"The fact that only three people were left alive!" Mai hissed, careful not to draw attention. "I know that you could've thought of something better. Blackwood is _not_ a murderer."

Natsuki grimaced and turned her attention towards the small group walking at the front.

"I'm the one who knows Blackwood best, aren't I? I know best what 'he' is and isn't. Don't you trust our decisions?"

"Maybe you're confusing what you want with what's best!" Mai scolded, keeping her tone under control. She decided to ignore the use of the plural pronoun. "Natsuki, this has gotten out of control. T.N.T. didn't force a gang to disband, leaving behind only a few victims of foolish decisions and fanatic beliefs, like it usually does. It _destroyed_ those people!"

"_We_ didn't do much, Mai." Natsuki corrected, making her friend flinch. "They destroyed themselves. Well. It had to happen sooner or later."

"I'm still not convinced. You could've done better." Mai repeated her earlier statement, bent on not giving up on her point. "You let your eagerness get ahead of you. You sacrificed lives for the sake of information on Smith and I still don't know all the reasons why you continue this wild pursuit."

"Not now." Natsuki cut her off, stiffening a bit. Her expression instantly hardened.

"When?" Mai whispered. "When will I know? When will we all know? Have you even told Shizuru-san?"

"Not now." Natuski repeated expressionless. "Now stop behaving like the underdog. We were victorious."

_Were we? _

Both friends locked eyes, one staring angrily at the other. The glare was answered by an arrogant silence; this never failed to induce even more agitation. That haughty attitude was what made all people keep their distance and it was exactly that behaviour that made Mai shake with fury. But it had also made her want to understand and accept the person who hid behind that wall of imposing superiority. The caring girl knew she had lost the battle the moment she had questioned Natsuki's decisions. She had dared to cross a line which no-one had even thought existed.

Natsuki's indisputable authority had been put under question by her best friend – and that was sure to cause more problems in the future. Natsuki knew that she needed to do something to gain Mai's trust back and she had to do it fast, for if she hesitated she risked losing a very important person. Not only was Mai an irreplaceable friend, but she was also the reason why some T.N.T. members still continued to partake in all those criminal activities, shrouded by the veil of 'justice for the victims'.

_Not that they have much of a choice. _Natsuki thought bitterly after finally looking away from Mai's burning stare.

The gang leader was well aware that she was not fully trusted by some of her accomplices. However, those accomplices trusted Mai immensely – she was the good third-in-command, the leader who was the most kind, caring and… human. She was the person who they knew would both think and worry about them. What they saw in her was a protector - someone who could show them that the world was not as cruel as it seemed. And if that protector chose to stand aside and speak against Natsuki and Blackwood, at least five more people would walk away. And the absence of even a small number of members would mean instant defeat.

Of course, Natsuki wouldn't let them do that, but she preferred to be in good terms with all of the gang members. She had chosen each of them for a reason and liked to think of them as indispensable. They were indispensable – she would never find another informant as sneaky as Chie, another fighter as skilled as Mikoto, another sharp shooter like Takata even… She had seen something in each of them, which would complement her idea of the perfect playing hand.

Natsuki shook her head to clear it of her thoughts and decided to observe her comrades and hostages instead. As always, Mikoto was doing a splendid job, escorting her prisoner with utmost application. Nina moved with heavy steps unbecoming of a girl of her lithe body. Arika behaved much in the same way, having yielded to her unfair fate. Natsuki finally settled on looking at Nao.

Her protégée gave out no obvious signs that she was troubled or tired, but Natsuki knew that it was all an act. She thought that talking over things later with all of her friends would be best. After quickly coming up with how to handle it in their next meeting, she turned towards the still fuming Mai.

"Would you take care of things from here?" She asked, receiving in turn a questioning look. "Tell Nao to go to Sagisawa-sensei after all of you escort those two to the club room."

"Where will you be going?" Mai said, accepting her task, but still wanting to know of Natsuki's intentions. The rebel scoffed and mentioned towards her face and arm. Mai's brows rose in realization.

"I can't go to the school doctor in such a state. While Nao can say that she fell, I…" Natsuki trailed off, not having to complete her explanation, as Mai seemingly understood her perfectly. They were now closing in on the school's grounds after the long walk from the docks.

"How will you get to…?" Mai's question was interrupted by the sound of a car's claxon. They all looked, surprised by the flashy dark-blue Italian sport's car on the corner that had stopped just before the street leading towards Fuuka's campus.

"I guess this answers your question." Natsuki drawled out, actually a bit in shock herself.

_Relieves me of the same worries, too.__ But I'll be damned…_

Without uttering another word, she quickly strode towards the car and opened the passenger seat's door at the front. The glass was tinted, so the driver couldn't be seen by the other T.N.T. members or the two hostages. Before Mai or Nao were able to vocally express how offended they were (with different choices of expressions, of course), Natsuki had climbed in and the car had dashed off with its tires screeching.

Mai shrugged. At least she had been given instructions on what to do, instead of being left to improvise - that usually didn't lead to anything good if said improvising wasn't in the kitchen.

* * *

Natsuki was stuck. She sternly looked ahead at the road, refusing to glance towards the driver. If she made a wrong move, or said the wrong thing, the whole situation would turn for the worse and she would be put at a huge disadvantage. When together with this person, the gang leader felt like she was playing an ineffable game with whatever ruler the universe had. If she had to describe this game, she would portray it as a twisted gamble in a room engulfed with darkness, playing only with blank cards. The stakes, of course, were immeasurable. And the other player was deadly silent and _smiling_.

Natsuki hadn't felt this nervous the whole day. Not when she had been held at gun-point, not when she had jumped off a railing high up from the safety of ground, not even when she had plummeted towards the old ship's bow. The setting sun made her squint and she involuntarily turned her head towards the driver. She gulped.

"You shouldn't have bothered." Natsuki finally ventured, feeling that it would be unwise to keep silent any longer. Not to mention potentially dangerous. "I would've been perfectly able to…"

"To walk to the other end of the city in such a state? Oh, I'm sure that such a feat would have been accomplishable… if not for such injuries."

"It's nothing that severe…"

"Natsuki."

"Yes?"

"Which is the shortest way towards _that man's_ clinic?"

"Uh… Turn left on the next traffic light."

The car had entered the city's heavy traffic zones and was now weaving slowly towards its destination, both occupants quietly agitated at the slow speed. When they had reached a wider road, they were intersected by a speeding truck. The vehicle was huge and its speed suggested that the truck driver wasn't in his right mind. Natsuki clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"You should overtake it." She stated, crossing her arms and feeling fidgety for not being the one in control of the car. The wound on her left arm caused her to wince, which served to remind her exactly why she wasn't behind the steering wheel.

"It's bigger than us and if it so much as grazes our side, we'll be spun in front of it." The driver said logically, refusing to do as told. "He won't even notice us."

"We're faster." Natsuki argued back.

"Natsuki is such a backseat driver!" Shizuru exclaimed exasperatedly.

"It's because you're so cautious in your driving!" Came the quick retort. Nobody could disagree with Natsuki when it came to roads and vehicles. "Besides, you… obtained… a license just this spring- you're far too inexperienced. I'm only helping."

"Yes, isn't Natsuki the helpful one?" Shizuru clucked, and sped up. Natsuki smiled. According to the law, Shizuru wasn't still permitted to drive, but being a Fujino (with Natsuki as her girlfriend) had its benefits.

"Don't be silly." The gang leader paused. "We're almost there." She added quietly.

After some further instructions, the car stopped in front of an old apartment building and the two girls climbed out. After making sure that her vehicle was securely locked, Shizuru caught up with Natsuki, who was waiting for her at the entrance, and they both entered the building.

"I've always liked your car." Natsuki remarked after pushing the elevator's button. The doors opened and they went inside the small dimly-lit box.

"I would've preferred something not so stand-offish." Shizuru admitted, which puzzled Natsuki.

"Why did you get this one, then?" She asked.

"Why, I wonder…" The student council president smiled at her companion, who then knew she would get no further explanation.

"Whatever." The rebel mumbled and shrugged. The elevator stopped its sluggish ascent and the opening of the doors signaled their arrival.

The two students found themselves in a narrow gloomy tiled corridor. Natsuki turned to the older girl.

"I'll be right back. You wait here."

"I'll go inside with Natsuki." Shizuru stated calmly.

"Uh… why?"

"I'm afraid for Natsuki's safety, of course. I can't let her be alone in one room with an aging lecherous man in her current state."

"Shizuru," Natsuki started reasoning. "I've been this doctor's client for the last three years."

"See, that's exactly why you'll let your guard down around him." Shizuru countered with a smile.

"I never let my guard down!" Natsuki defended, with what little pride she had. She knew that it was pointless, but arguing with Shizuru wasn't something which could ever be expected to end with her victorious. Their little arguments were carried out just for the sake of Natsuki stating her opinion. It was almost never taken into consideration.

"Again, Natsuki is wrong." Shizuru remarked, while knocking on the cabinet's door. After a response was heard from inside, the crimson-eyed beauty pushed the doorknob and entered the room.

Natsuki rubbed her neck and followed with a few inaudible grumbles of disagreement. She knew Shizuru was right. Shizuru was always right.

* * *

Nao decided that she rather liked Tokiha Mai's motherly nature, even if it irritated her on more than one occasion. At least Mai gave off the impression that she actually cared for Nao's bruised state and broken nose. Quite unlike a certain someone, who hadn't even asked her if she was even alright.

The freshman cursed under her breath. She was _not _thinking about Kuga, damn it! Not when she was sitting in doctor Sagisawa's cabinet, waiting to be treated. While watching the amiable woman move about gathering the medical supplies she needed to treat Nao, the younger girl recalled the exchange between the Garderobe members earlier in the bridge clubroom.

Actually, they weren't a part of Garderobe – not when such an organization didn't exist anymore. That realization had hit the three first-years quite hard, it seemed.

Arika had immediately sprung back to her energetic self when she had seen that Irina girl all tied up in the club room. It had taken Nao some efforts to restrain her from breaking free and diving to her friend's aid. Mai and Mikoto were the ones who had to hold Nina down - she also found the treatment of their comrade quite disagreeable.

Chie had winked at them and reassured them that Irina was quite alright, even untying the prisoner for proof. The released teenager had run up to her friends and gathered them in a hug, squeezing them tightly.

Nao had said nothing back then and she hadn't waited for the teary reunion to continue – she had headed straight for Sagisawa's. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she didn't want to look at those girls for much longer. It was partially her fault that there was only the three of them left. She needed to talk to Kuga later.

"Ow!" Nao yelped when she felt her nose snapping back in place. Her eyes watered and she looked at the purple-eyed school medic in accusation. She had been so lost in her recollection that she had missed that the woman had started treating her.

"I told you that it would hurt." Youko chided when she was met with Nao's hostile expression.

"Yeah, whatever." Nao grumbled and patiently sat, waiting for the doctor to finish her work.

"How did you manage to break your nose, Yuuki-san?" Youko asked, while cleaning the blood off the fiery-haired girl's face.

"Just fell." Nao shrugged, her tone leaving no room for more questions. The doctor said nothing more until she announced that she was ready.

Nao nodded and lifted a hand to her face, feeling the small bandage with her fingers.

"Don't worry, it wasn't badly broken," assured her the medic. "You'll be as cute as before."

The comment made Nao huff and she hurriedly made her way back towards the cabinet's door. She did not forget to thank the doctor for her help before storming out of the room - and thought she caught a glimpse of an amused smile on the woman's face - but brushed that off. Adults weren't nice. They only pretended they cared, and the school's doctor wasn't any different.

* * *

"I didn't hear Takamura-sensei earlier. Is it serious?"

"I already told you that it isn't. Don't you trust me?"

"Natsuki…"

"Okay, okay." The rebel sighed exasperatedly. "I'll need to be careful not to over-exert myself, but only for the next three to four days or so. I'm telling you that I'm fine. By the way, to answer your earlier question, the three who were hurt are fine. Takamura-sensei told me he let them go home before we arrived."

"I see." Shizuru glanced at her girlfriend for a few seconds before focusing on the road again. It had gotten late, but there was still traffic she needed to be carefully avoiding.

"What about your previous injuries?"

"Hm?" Natsuki was looking out of the window absent-mindedly. "What about them?"

"Natsuki!" Shizuru turned to angrily stare at the younger girl. This provoked the biker to snap out of her trance and regard her beloved with all of her attention.

"They're all healing fine, so watch the road!"

The uncharacteristic yelp helped to soften Shizuru's features, and she reverted to her calm and collected self.

She rarely allowed her anger to manifest on her face, but she felt no such need to restrain herself when with Natsuki. The girl had gained her trust completely and Shizuru prided herself with being quite apt at judging people. She could tell for certain that Natsuki would never use her flaws against her. She could also tell that Natsuki trusted her, and that's what made her feel obligated to be as equally honest. But moreover she was aware that there were things, which Natsuki wasn't telling her, so she also kept her own secrets. Sure, she meant to discuss some things with her most precious person as soon as possible, but now was not the appropriate moment.

"Natsuki?"

"Yeah?"

"What's going to happen now?" Shizuru asked, her throat dry. Her worry was met with a nonchalant shrug, which she caught with her peripheral vision.

"I'm going to find out what I can from those three brats about Smith and I'll see where to go from there." Natsuki explained laconically.

"Will they cooperate?" Shizuru wondered what Natsuki had made them go through to be obedient enough to share important information about the government with their enemy. She loved her girlfriend with all her heart, but she still found some of her methods dubious, and she did everything in her power to mitigate in some way the harsh decisions Natsuki sometimes took.

"Oh, they will." Natsuki grinned at the President, obviously proud of her success. "I think that I already have their loyalties in my grasp."

"What did Natsuki do?" Shizuru asked. Her question was met with silence. Then Natsuki spoke again, however the topic was different.

"Will you drop me off somewhere around here? I don't want to be seen with you."

Shizuru couldn't resist the urge to slip a teasing comment. "Is Natsuki that embarrassed by my mere presence?"

"Idiot."

Amused laughter followed.

"Shizuru…" Natsuki began and the car stopped. "I don't know what I'll learn, but one thing I do know. It will get even more dangerous than before, so please be careful."

"I'm not the one in constant danger." Shizuru quietly replied, but her soft smile didn't leave her lips.

"You're the student council president. Headmistress Himeno has entrusted you with many duties, which puts you in a delicate position. And I'm not sure how Smith will react after having his men removed from the campus."

"You think that there might be another hostage situation like last time?" Shizuru inquired, her brows furrowing.

"Not exactly like last time's." Natsuki shook her head. "We both know that Fuuka High has its own shady affairs, completely unrelated to the government. This might be another reason for Smith to push things."

"By shady affairs you mean the First District?"

"Yes. That's still only a name - I haven't yet connected it to a person, but we know it exists. And we're aware that it's a thorn in Smith's side." Natsuki looked pensive. "He can't act against the school openly, as it will cause a big ruckus, but still. I feel like a sitting duck."

"Indeed, it's now pressing for measures to be taken… I will, of course, try to find more about this." Shizuru offered.

"Don't push yourself." Natsuki opened the door and stepped outside in the cool night air. "If you get yourself in trouble, I won't forgive you."

_Or myself_, she mentally added.

Shizuru tilted her head to the side and lifted her brows in amusement.

"It's a given that I won't get caught. Himeno Fumi trusts me and will suspect nothing. And recently she has spent less and less time at the campus - or the city for that matter."

"Still. Don't over-do it." Natsuki stubbornly stated.

"Natsuki is such a sweet person. I don't see why she doesn't display that side of her more often." Shizuru pouted playfully. "I'm sure that everybody would be more grateful if Natsuki's frown wasn't present at almost all occasions."

"Silly Shizuru." The rebellious youth turned her head sharply away, blushing. "I have my reasons."

"Still, Natsuki, I think you should try to be more kind with your friends – they all deserve it. It may be hard to switch between… personas so often, but surely you can do better, yes?"

"You need to go. It's getting late." Natsuki scoffed and thrust her hands in her blazer's pockets.

"Yes… indeed it is." Shizuru reached out and closed the door.

The dark-haired teenager stared after the car until it disappeared around the curve, before she slowly started making her way towards Fuuka High's dormitories.

Natsuki regretted not staying longer in the car with Shizuru. She had seen the look of rejection in those crimson eyes before the door had closed, but was also well aware that had she stayed longer, she wouldn't have left. As much as Shizuru was understanding and kind, she was equally passionate and… unexpectedly greedy in some aspects. Of course, Natsuki wouldn't have minded spending the entire week in that car together with the older girl, however there was work to do. She had interrogations to lead, gang members to recruit, and trusts to regain. Another thing which was on her agenda was to call Yamada and to ask for more information on the First District.

She paused at a bus-stop, considering taking the vehicle as a means of transport to the campus - and seeing from the time-table that the bus would arrive shortly, she decided to wait patiently. When the bus doors clattered open she climbed inside and sat herself at the far end, next to a window. Out she gazed, lost in thought.

If she wanted more information, she had to pay a considerably large sum. Now, when she didn't have the support from her father after moving out from her apartment, Natsuki was relying on an old bank account. Said account had been left to her by her mother, and the money in it was enough to support a family for five-six years. However, a huge amount had already been spent on investigations, weaponry, and other helpful equipment. Surely this was not what Natsuki's mother had prepared it for.

Actually, Natsuki had found about that bank account by accident, while sniffing around the First District and John Smith. She had known that her mother had been connected to Smith, but then had been the first time when she had encountered the name 'First District'. As of yet she had next to no information about them. At that time she still had her father's support and after cracking the password (her mother hadn't put much thought in the protection of her money), she had decided to use that 'financial support' in the worst case scenario.

_I did have to use that money, though. _Natsuki thought sullenly, recalling her mother's smiling face, telling her seven-year-old self to stay out of trouble. She was pulled out of her thoughts when the driver had shouted that it was her stop. Realising that she had been the only one left from the passengers, she quickly got off and strode towards one of the secret entrances her gang had made.

Going to bed was the first thing on her 'want to do' list. Regrettably, that list was burned to ashes by the thought of how many problems she needed to tend to. Most likely everybody was waiting at the club room, all tired and agitated that their second-in-command had disappeared to God knows where. Most likely they were as eager to rest as Natsuki was.

The cold night wind brushed against her bare thighs and reminded her to hurry up. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and creeped into the shadows, proceeding towards the club rooms, carefully steering clear of the cameras. Natsuki had learned how to avoid being caught on the cameras' recordings thanks to Shizuru's handy access to the security system. Of course, Shizuru had gotten that access with a little shady help from a programmer Natsuki was financially acquainted with, but the result had been quite pleasing.

Her back pressed to the club building's wall, Natsuki paused for a bit and thought how hard life would've been had she not met Shizuru at that car-park three years ago. Considering that she was emotionally damaged from the get-go, it had been a true blessing in itself that Natsuki had met a person so understanding and willing to help her. At first, naturally, it had been very annoying…

Natsuki shook her head slightly. She was standing dumbly glued to the cold and rough wall, caught in pleasant memories of how she met her beloved. That action was quickly classified as stupid and pointless - and soon after that quick discovery the Ice Princess was again gliding towards the club room's door. As soon as she pushed it open, she was greeted by tired looks and hostile first-years. This was going to be one hell of a night.


	21. Chapter 21

_**A/N: Hi there! Hope you readers haven't given up on me just yet. I am working on this story, though university and all other responsibilities along with it are hindering me a lot. As a first year I thought that I wouldn't have all that much to do, but I was rudely proven wrong. *sweatdrops* But regardless, chapter 25 is already finished and I plan on starting the next one as soon as possible. **_

_**You might notice that I've switched PoVs in middle-narration, but I didn't bother to change it, since it sat well with me. I don't know how it will be with you, so if it's that strange, tell me and I'll think of a way to change it. Also, I think I said it last time, but this chapter is not beta'd and nor will be the upcoming ones. Your weekly dose of typos and mistakes is ensured. XD I think I need to pay tribute to Crosswood every time I upload, because without her help, I wouldn't have even made it this far. *pulls out a ritual dagger and stabs an already cooked lamb*  
**_

_**Also, I thank sincerely the ones who reviewed last time. I'm sorry that I didn't reply individually, but I've had unexplainable (at that moment) problems with my account both here and on my e-mail... And since I had so much else to do, I was only able to figure what was wrong just recently... Yeah. *ashamed* I promise that now that everything is fixed, I'll be more attentive! **_

_**Now, on to the story! All reviews - except ones including only the words 'sucks', 'fail', etc. without a reasonable explanation attached - are welcomed! **_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

After knowing Arika for more than five minutes Natsuki had found herself fighting the desire to look into the freshman's ear to see if she could spot daylight coming the other way.

"…And grandma's always told me that it's bad to steal." Arika informed the few remaining gang members.

This one time Natsuki gave into her desire and she felt almost surprised when after she leaned idly forward and threw a subtle glance in Arika's ear, she saw nothing. Figuring that this shouldn't bother _her_all that much (after all, she wasn't making references to her grandmother's stories constantly, which automatically put her out of suspicion of being a complete moron), she continued her questioning, hoping not to be forcefully drawn into listening to any more digressions.

"So you're telling me that Smith sent the Lieutenant to pick out kids from your orphanage?" Natsuki asked, skilfully sifting out the important from the random facts she had received from Arika. Said girl, Nina and Irina silently nodded in confirmation with apparent reluctance.

They did seem quite uncomfortable with the idea that they were forced to cooperate with the people they had initially set out to defeat. The three new under-probation-members were seated between Nao and Aoi - two of the three other gang members still present at the club room. Natsuki was slowly walking around, well aware that if she sat down, she would start yawning and her brain would cease all activity at once.

In the midst of the silence she quickly went mentally through all the things she had done and the tasks she still needed to complete. She had led a prolonged 'conversation' with Blackwood as an act for in front of the others, who she had then disbanded. Some had opted to stay, but Natsuki had insisted they go to their rooms and rest. She had pointed out that all of them were tired and that they did have school the other morning, this making everybody give up without a fight and indeed return to their dorms. Secretly Natsuki only wished to be left alone with the people she trusted more and the three younger girls, so that she could properly proceed with her plans.

The gang leader had yet to call Yamada and request more information and most probably help for what she thought was the best course of action that could be taken from now on. She needed to act fast, as Smith would start asking questions, and in the end she knew she and her friends would be surely found out. They could no longer rely completely on the protection Fuuka High provided them, seeing that only just recently some lowly gang had managed to infiltrate the - what they had thought impenetrable for outsiders - campus. And if Marguerite awoke soon, there wouldn't be anywhere to run _or_ hide. Indeed, Natsuki had to put to good use her persuasion skills and quickly find out what she needed to know in order to get to Smith. The first to strike was going to be the winner.

She sighed.

"Kuga-senpai." Nina ventured to speak and Natsuki turned her attention towards her. "Why are you fighting against John Smith? I mean, we all know that there are some flaws in his governing, but…"

"But nothing worth rebelling against?" Natsuki finished. Nina hesitantly nodded.

From the corner of her eye Natsuki noted that Nao had shifted in her seat, probably anticipating the answer as much as the other first-years.

"I simply couldn't take the unfairness of it anymore." The gang leader shrugged expressionlessly. "See, I really like this city; for various reasons, which I'm not about to disclose to _you_. But the fact is that I don't like that this place is ruled by some bastard who makes people cower before his power and influence."

"The system works, though." Irina disagreed, speaking for the first time to Natsuki. "If you attempt to break it and happen to succeed, you'd spread panic and confusion. The uncontrollable gangs will take over and everybody will be doomed to an inescapable life of misery and fear."

At first Natsuki didn't respond to the very logical accusation. Her steady green gaze smoothly glided over the other students' faces. There wasn't even one of them, who didn't look bothered by Irina's words. Natsuki reasoned that the detectable unease in her friends was mostly due to the rather… exciting day. Of course, she had been asked the same question before. The most recent case had been when Nao had nonchalantly inquired on the subject. The leader of T.N.T. decided to reply in the same way she had back then.

"I have prepared for that." She explained calmly. "Smith… His system will continue to work, even without him operating at the top. Of course, I can't spill to you the complete plan, since you are far too untrustworthy. However, the gist of it is this: Smith's rule will continue, but without him."

"…What?" Arika provided her intellectual contribution to the conversation, while her other friends had the decency only to look confused. Beside her Nao sighed exasperatedly. Even she had understood what scheme Kuga had cryptically revealed to her that time when she had asked.

"God, you're stupid." The red-haired youth concluded. She silently admitted to herself that Kuga's explanation _was_ confusing (nothing new there), but surely those girls should've been able to grasp the main idea, even a bit.

Arika turned towards her offender with a childish expression of hurt spilled all across her pouting face.

"Nao-san, you're mean!"

"Congratulations, you've just stated a known fact. Would you like to 'Save' your progress, or will you 'Restart' the level next time you turn on your brain?"

Natsuki almost let out a laugh at Nao's dry remark made with a skilful imitation of a mechanical voice, but her amusement was gone as soon as her comrades' chuckles died down. She coughed in her fist to gain once again the attention of the three ex-enemies.

"I'll tell you what Blackwood wants from you."

This proved to be a good way to bestow silence upon the group of students. Everybody was visibly more than eager to hear what Natsuki was going to declare this time.

"Tell us how to get to the place where Marguerite was hospitalized. After the skirmish she was taken away by your people. Where? Where is it that she's kept?"

Arika swallowed, Nina remained stone-faced, while Irina glared openly at the gang leader. When none of them spoke, Natsuki continued to persuade them.

"Listen, that girl's dangerous. Now that there's a possibility that she'll live and decide to stand on Smith's side, your lives are also in danger."

"Why?" Irina scoffed further at the girl she obviously deemed to be even more dangerous.

Natsuki sighed, obviously displeased that the three first-years couldn't catch up with her reasoning as quickly as she wanted them to. In an attempt to reassure herself that she wasn't the only person, who understood the gravity of the situation, she quickly ran her gaze over her friends' faces. She was left slightly disappointed when nobody seemed to have realized her concerns just yet. Maybe Nao, but that was just a vague assumption.

"Think of what Marguerite'll do when she wakes up. Of course, first she'll be interrogated and when she tells Smith's men everything they want to know, it'll look bad for you guys. Look at it this way: you're the only survivors of that incident, except for the people who took Marguerite. Why were you left alive? Are you still allies to the government? Or have you fled to the enemy? Either way, you were trusted with too much information. This automatically makes you a threat." Natsuki paused to let what she had just said sink in. The look of comprehension had dawned on the trio's faces, along with the signs of unease and fear – tensed shoulders, clenched jaws, and downcast eyes.

"So. How do you plan to win in this game of survival? Will you go back under Smith's supervision and most likely be treated as traitors? Or maybe… you could join T.N.T. and preserve your lives. You'll be safer than with Smith. Safety is something which we are better at providing than that man will ever be."

"But we won't be free regardless…" Nina murmured.

"Still, you'll be alive." Chie darkly pointed out, while typing something on her phone. Her glasses reflected the light from the device's screen and when she lifted her eyes to look at the younger girls, the three shivered involuntarily. "What's better than that? If you're alive, you'll surely find freedom in one form or another."

"And when we build a new order, you'll be free to do whatever you like." The gang leader finished. This still got her no reply and she crossed her arms in an act of aggravation.

"Anyway, you'll be given time to think things over. I don't see why you hesitate so much, but…" She trailed off and then turned to her two roommates. "Mai, Mikoto, could you show those three the way to their… quarters? Tonight they'll be sharing the unused office next to the club room."

Mai and Mikoto got up, one yawning and stretching, the other care-worn and mute. Two friends exchanged looks and a silent conversation was held within parts of the second. Mai nodded at Natsuki's silent command.

"Why we hesitate you ask…" Nina rasped under her breath, attempting to control her rage. "You! You people killed so many today! My father was murdered! And you still have the nerve to ask 'why'?"

"You have three days. We'll be waiting and watching until then." Natsuki informed the three ex-Garderobe members, ignoring Nina's outburst as if it never happened. The fuming Chinese and her two friends were lead out without further protests and the door was closed firmly behind them. Natsuki was left in the room together with Nao, Aoi and Chie.

"Kuga," Nao lowly began as soon as they could no longer hear steps. "There's something with your plan which bothers me."

"And you say that when you haven't even heard it yet." Natsuki answered equally noiselessly, a smirk dancing on her lips. Nao scrunched her eyebrows, but continued despite the remark.

"What if they take things in their own hands? What if they give us false information and decide to take care of the psycho themselves? I'm almost sure they can pull it off. Or they return to Smith and in order to save their own sorry hides sell us off. Keeping an eye on them won't stop them from doing any of that. At some point they'll escape and the only way to stop them will be to…"

"We won't."

_I__ promised __myself__ that __I __won__'__t__ kill __unnecessarily. __I __won__'__t __break__ that __promise __yet __again._Natsuki refused to meet the questioning gazes of the other three girls.

"I'm with Nao-chan." Aoi stated in a whisper. "We can't control them twenty-four/seven and they're well aware of that – it'll look too suspicious at the very least. Sure, at first it won't look like anything special, but… Natsuki, even in the school we're surrounded by potential or genuine enemies."

"And if they manage to get to John Smith before Marguerite-san has awoken… There are too many insecurities and loops in your plan, Natsuki." Chie was the last one to anxiously express her opinion on the matter.

"Such worries are unnecessary." Natsuki waved her comrades' concerns aside with a dismissive gesture of her hand. "In two days we'll make sure they make the right decision."

"How?" Nao distrustfully raised a brow.

"Rumours," was the laconic answer.

"Of what?"

"Of Marguerite being seen on campus, of course."

"That would be impossible! She was shot _today_! Repeatedly!" Nao nearly cried out in disbelief.

"Those three know what technology the government possesses. I know, too. And, trust me, it _is_ terrifying…"

"What kind of… technology?" Chie inquired hesitantly.

"Creating highly advanced artificial intellect, for one."

"That's not very impressive, Kuga. It's known that artificial intellect is nothing to be afraid of. Even a normal computer can simulate thought. What's so scary about a toaster with a processor?"

"The toaster walks, talks and fights. It also has access to files none of us has dreamed of, or thought, existed." Natsuki explained through gritted teeth. The idea of being at the mercy of something like that made her agitated and slightly afraid. She recalled what she had seen on her computer's screen a week back.

"You're shittin' me." Nao choked out, the first one to come out of the shock. "How the hell do you know that?"

"Yamada sent me footage of the thing – a blasted tin with a humanoid form, all wires and mechanical parts. With two red glowing head-lights, which I presume are the still-in-development eyes. Clearly that thing wasn't completed, but I don't think that it'll be in the works for much longer; the copy was at least a year old." The Ice Princess described what she had witnessed on the thirty-second recording. She nervously licked her lips before continuing. "Now imagine what medical knowledge and cutting-edge technology those bastards must have. If they can build something like that, they can create what we consider miracles – Lieutenant Wang was surely aware of such projects. This means that Nina and the rest knew as well. So it's not unbelievable for…"

"Okay, I got it." Nao rudely cut off Natsuki, her impatience overriding the feeling of dread. "Let's get back on topic. Wouldn't hearing a rumour from us be kinda… unconvincing?"

"We're only gonna start the rumour and spread it throughout the campus. They won't hear it directly from us. Chie?"

The Gossip queen smiled when she was addressed.

"Rumour," she sagely began and continued with her grin gradually fading to a smirk, "is a substance so finely distilled that it will leak through anything. It can also fly freely – from one person to another. And in this school I happen to be the one who controls the flow of rumours. In other words – I am the one who decides what Truth is. If it is me who states something it immediately travels all over campus and comes into existence as a 'fact'."

"It's all set then." Natsuki concluded proudly. "They'll need to catch a glimpse of Marguerite as well to be fully convinced. We won't need that much to fool those three – they are pretty much trembling in Blackwood's palm."

"And who's going to play Marguerite?" Nao quickly asked.

The gang leader shrugged, not really caring which member of T.N.T. would take the role, as long as the job was done.

"Are you offering your services, Nao?" Natsuki turned towards her younger friend, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Nao angrily crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"As if, idiot! I'm not even the same height!" She fiery responded.

Sensing the rising conflict between the always arguing duo, Chie timely interfered.

"I agree! How about Akane? If we put a wig on her head, she'll be able to pass as Marguerite-san if her face isn't visible. Sure, she is with a slightly different build, but that won't be that easily noticeable considering that Marguerite's appearance on the school grounds would be a shock." She reasonably pointed out. "Besides, she's pretty fast and this means that she won't be easily caught if those three decide to chase her around."

After being silent for a short while, considering Chie's offer, Natsuki nodded in agreement.

"All we have to do, then, is to be weary the real Marguerite showing up, but I highly doubt that. That reminds me – what about Miya Clochette? Does anybody know what happened with Marguerite's sidekick?" The gang leader asked her two master-informants.

"I…" Aoi began quietly, sad blue eyes cast down. "I saw her… body… Earlier when we were…"

"I see." Natsuki felt no remorse about Tomoe's constant companion, but seeing one of her close friends overtaken by such guilt made her visibly cringe. The responsibility of her gang's actions lay on her shoulders alone and some times it simply got too heavy to bear.

_Just__ a __little __longer.__Just__ a __little __longer__ and __nobody __will __suffer __any__more._ The Ice Princess repeated confidently to herself. All of those close to her would be granted what they deserved. No matter the means.

From the corner of her eye Natsuki caught Nao wincing and frowning, as if she was physically hurt.

"Do you have any injuries beside that?" Natsuki asked, eying Nao's covered by a bandage broken nose.

"Nah…" The first-year denied, not meeting Natsuki's searching look. This made the older girl frown slightly, but she didn't comment any more on the subject. She reasoned that the reminder from Aoi must have served like a kick in the gut to her protégée.

After all, today had been Nao's first kill and even though she was putting up a tough front, Natsuki had no doubt that her younger friend was deeply shaken by the experience. The gang leader felt somewhat proud that Nao hadn't broken down on the spot and had acted like taking a life away (even if it had been a stranger's) was nothing out of the ordinary.

Chie cleared her throat and broke the silence.

"I'm going to head back, if you don't mind. At this hour we won't get anything done, if we stay and work on our further movements, or so I think." She pushed up her glasses with a practiced curt motion and went to the door.

"I'll be going ahead." Bowing slightly her head, she excused herself. "I'll see you in the morning, Nao-kun, Natsuki-kun."

"Not going to say 'good night' to your girlfriend, Harada?" Nao taunted.

"Oh, no. I'll be seeing her in my own room soon. Right, Aoi?" Chie grinned at her blue-eyed companion, who only nodded, blushing.

"Well, at least it won't be in my room this time." Was Nao's comment after only the three of them were left in the room.

"Gosh, Nao-chan!" Aoi exclaimed exasperatedly. "It was only once!"

"Shut it and get going already."

Aoi huffed indignantly and exited, leaving Nao and Natsuki alone.

"You're in a foul mood." Natsuki stated, more than asked after a few silent moments passed between them. "As were most of the others earlier…"

"Yeah, we killed a bunch 'a people. And now we're acting all depressed… Go figure!" Nao sarcastically drawled out and sighed. "And how come you seem unaffected by all of this?"

"The blood and gore, you mean?" Natsuki moved so that she could face Nao and leaned on a desk. She got a nod in affirmation. "I adapt quickly."

Nao kept her silence for a bit longer before finally asking what she wanted to know.

"When did you kill for the first time?"

"A couple of years back."

"Reason?"

"None. It was… very spontaneous."

"Spontaneous, huh? Do you… you know, regret it?"

"I regret many things, but that's not one of them." Natsuki ran her fingers through her always silky dark locks. She heavily sighed, in reminiscence of the time she had first taken a life away. "It wasn't heroic, nor was it to protect somebody beside myself. But then I realized something."

"Hm?" Nao tilted her head and waited for Kuga to share her 'discovery'.

"When you cross this invisible line that's killing, do you know what's on the other side? You, alone. But you are the one who's alive and the other person's dead. You are granted another chance." Natsuki hesitated for a brief moment before she ventured to continue. "And even if you suffer, and writhe, and scream, that won't bring that poor bastard back or make you less guilty. You've done it and that's that. End of story."

"But…" Nao cleared her dry throat. "But haven't you ever wondered about the ones on the other end of the gun?"

"There was no point." The leader of T.N.T. replied with some well hidden discomfort. "If I let myself indulge in such thoughts, I'd never be able to see my goal from all the bodies. So, no, Nao; an enemy's existence never matters to me except for that one brief moment in which I end it."

"That was… a thought-provoking point of view, Kuga." Nao commented with mock astuteness. "But it does relieve me a bit."

"What do you mean?" Natsuki asked, her features now washed over by a perplexed frown bordering with a sense of caution.

"Now it seems that I'm not the only one, who has similar sentiments." The younger girl's reply managed to startle Natsuki, as she found herself unexpectedly unable to react in any way. She remained quiet and pensive all the while until Nao spoke again.

"All that's left for me to do is find a way to cope with all of this."

Natsuki pushed off the desk and turned her back towards the other girl. She was now facing an empty blistered wall, her hands folded behind her back.

"Do what you want. I was simply trying to make a point."

"You really aren't good at that you know. You talk very obscure and nobody ever understands you." The freshman walked slowly towards the door.

"That's not true." Natsuki disagreed with a trace of amusement in her voice. She desperately tried to dismiss the nagging feeling that now gnawed at her conscience. "I always know what I'm talking about. It's just that others don't."

Nao grumbled under her breath.

"Here you go again, mutt. Whatever. I'm off." She swiftly made her exit and Natsuki could barely hear her retreating footsteps.

Nao, Natsuki mused, was going to do well in her stead when the time for her 'leave of absence' came. In the short period of time she had known the freshman she had grown to relatively trust her, even though they always had words with each other. In the end it was all part of their interaction. Though the discovery of Nao's new quality troubled her a bit, even if it would work in their favour in the future.

After Natsuki waited long enough after Nao's departure, she decided that it was high time she got to her respectful dorm as well. When she snuck a glance at the clock on the wall she established with displeasure that it was way past a decent hour. And she suddenly felt like just lying on the floor and falling asleep right there in the club room.

The gang leader lazily pushed the door open and after she securely locked it, carefully made her way towards the room she shared with Mai and Mikoto. On her way back she entertained the idea of dropping by at Shizuru's, but soon brushed away that silly thought. All of them needed their rest and she was going to see Shizuru soon. Hopefully.

Suddenly a thought struck her. The tournament was tomorrow.

_Shit._

She needed to go to stupid Midori's right away… Or she could send Mai first thing in the morning – after all, her roommate _was_ the president of the club. And said President would most likely discover their history teacher rolling on the floor of her quarters, along with a number of empty bottles. Though, if Midori had already indulged in her drinking habits, she would be fast stoned at this hour and going to her now would be pointless.

Natsuki quietly growled, frustration quickly worming itself in her. If only she could slow time down and do all the preparations she wanted… And maybe get some rest somewhere in-between.

* * *

"Honestly," murmured Nao quietly. "How do you expect me do go to sleep peacefully, idiot?"

Naturally, she hadn't gone to the room she shared with Aoi, despite knowing that the other girl would be over at Chie's. Nao wanted to be alone and in somebody's company at the same time. And she was confused. Oh, so very confused.

It was a mystery to her why her legs had carried her to the school's parking lot. What surprised her more though was to see the last person she expected at this place in such a late hour. Exiting a dark sports car, none the less.

At first she hid in the shadows, not far behind a lamppost illuminating the car park, curious as to what the newly arrived was doing. Seeing that nothing more suspicious than securing the vehicle was done, she decided to step out into the light and reveal her presence.

"It's past curfew, Fujino." Nao said, making a startled Shizuru spin towards her at the sound of the familiar voice. The elder's stunned expression turned to a pleasant smile even before Nao could enjoy her small victory.

"Good evening, Yuuki-han." Shizuru greeted, but stayed glued to her spot, a good fifteen feet away from Nao. "What nightly activities might have you been entertaining?"

"None of your business." Nao struggled to keep the annoyance out of her voice, however failed miserably. "Won't you get in trouble if somebody sees you come back this late?"

"I'm afraid I might disappoint when I answer negatively." Shizuru made a quick come-back, but her tone betrayed nothing else but politeness. That behaviour quickly crawled up Nao's nerves and started tearing them one by one during every second the freshman was forced to look at that unwavering façade.

"Going to erase all recordings, hm?"

"Yuuki-han's assumption is correct."

"Being the student council president has its perks, doesn't it?"

"Certainly." Shizuru replied calmly, not batting an eyelash at Nao's attempts to pick up a fight. "That would be most convenient for you as well this time around. I can imagine you've been caught on at least one of the cameras."

Nao scowled; she didn't want to be indebted to Fujino in any way and that girl was insinuating that she would take care of the potential problem. As if reading those thoughts, Shizuru spoke again.

"Don't feel you owe me anything. I'm not doing this for your sake, after all."

"You're keeping Kuga's ass safe? Figures."

A flicker of an emotion, which Nao couldn't exactly put her finger on, flashed over Shizuru's face, but again it disappeared in an instant.

"What are you doing here?" Shizuru asked again, now taking a step towards Nao. "I thought you had a tournament tomorrow."

_Oh, right. _

"I thought you knew what's happened today." The first-year lowly responded. "The bloody tournament's the last thing on my mind right now!"

"Then today was your first…?" Shizuru trailed off, letting the silence finish the question for her. Nao only narrowed her eyes more in reply. "I see."

"Don't make me laugh! You think you understand me? Both you and Kuga are unbelievable!" Nao raised her voice and clenched her fists in anger. She was sick of people thinking that they knew and understood her.

"What did Natsuki do to offend you?" The President inquired, a trace of worry laced in her voice.

"Nothing much. Just told me to deal with everything by myself as usual." Nao didn't expect she would be so upset at Natsuki's lack of concern for her wellbeing. Her desire to be recognized and praised by the gang leader frightened her to a degree. What was with this desperation to be seen as more than an accomplice? Why did she want for Natsuki to _care_?

"Typical of Natsuki." Shizuru chuckled from behind her hand, clearly amused by her beloved's antics. "Though that's her way of handling her problems, not yours. What do you do when you're troubled?"

"Like I'd actually tell _you_." Nao bit back, even though deeply inside she was grateful to Shizuru for unconsciously giving her a suggestion. But that was so deeply inside that she would hardly ever express any kind of gratitude towards the always annoying President.

"I'm slightly hurt, but I can't force it out of you, can I?" Shizuru melodramatically sighed. "But don't go around in the middle of the night. I might just punish you for breaking school rules."

"You're breaking them as much as I am."

"True. But nobody would dare believe I am a rule-breaker." Shizuru turned her back towards Nao. "I would really suggest you head back as soon as possible. Good night, Yuuki-han."

_I really, really hate her. _


	22. Chapter 22

_**A/N: Happy New Year to you, dear readers and fellow authors (as much as this is an accurate term for somebody like me)! Let's have another exciting and pleasant year together in this fanfiction community. Thank you for the support until now! **_

_**In this chapter I've tried to introduce a couple of other problems, which have more personal than global importance. When I say 'personal' I mean that even though they affect only the individual, they can endanger a bigger group of people if the problem is not solved in time. I hope I haven't screwed up that bad. *sweatdrop* And I also hope that I'll be able to finish this story before the world ends, but who knows. XD I'm sorry about all the mistakes which, I'm sure, are all over the place. Forgive the clumsy not-English excuse of an author and point them out if you have the time. **_

_**Enjoy, I'll be gladly expecting your opinion on the chapter. See you next time!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

"Mai." Natsuki whispered, careful not to wake Mikoto up. Because if the little fiend woke up now, no occupant of the room would get any rest until dawn. But as luck had it, Mai didn't even give an indication she had heard her name.

Natsuki quietly called out two more times, however Mai remained in a deep, insultingly insolent even, sleep. Sighing, the gang leader decided to cease her futile attempts and write a note instead. She knew that Mai got up earlier than she did, so the slip of paper wouldn't be ignored if it were left on the small kitchen's counter. After all, her caring roommate always woke up earlier by habit in order to prepare breakfast for the other two girls.

With the note now lying trapped between an empty glass and the counter's surface, Natsuki unenthusiastically dragged herself to the bathroom – a quick shower was much needed. She didn't even bother to look at her old injuries, much less indulge in inspecting the new ones, which were surely going to bother her for at least a week. Reluctantly she took extra care not to soak the bandage around the wound left from the bullet that had grazed her earlier. The skin wasn't more than singed, but Natsuki didn't want to saunter around carrying a fancy scar.

She paused in her movements when she reached for the shower's tap and her uninjured arm fell limply beside her. Now when she thought about it, she hadn't been able to distinguish whose weapon had fired the bullet. However, she wasn't upset by the fact that Nao's aim might have been a bit off. What concerned her more was that her partner had hesitated more than Natsuki had expected her to. It was a given that the leader of T.N.T. had known that the younger member would be hesitant when taking a life, but she had thought that Nao was more like her.

The Ice Princess gritted her teeth and let out an almost inaudible growl. She had been once more lead by her own eagerness – she had believed that Nao was much like herself. Apparently, Nao still had a long way to go before she could be as ruthless and focused on her aims as the gang leader.

Natsuki was brilliant in reading and predicting her enemies, but when it came to her allies she was completely clueless. So she had decided to treat them more like her opponents, thus being able to get in their heads more easily. She wasn't sure what this peculiar psychological phenomenon was, but she owed her aloof and distant behaviour to it. If it helped her survive, she had thought, then she would turn the whole world into her enemy.

Natsuki felt insecure when she didn't know what others were thinking and she knew that when she let her guard down around people, she could no longer notice the small things which aided her to 'read' those around her. The only ones she had given up on pretending around were Mai and Shizuru. When she got to know Mai better, Natsuki was convinced that her friend couldn't bear any ill thoughts towards anybody. Not ones which would put somebody in danger, that is.

And with Shizuru it was different, because she was… well, Shizuru. The President was as much complicated and secretive as she was easy-going and lovable. She truly was a contradictory person and that's why Natsuki liked her best. Shizuru rarely asked questions which she knew wouldn't be answered and she didn't pry into Natsuki's affairs.

_Too much…_ The gang leader thought with a scowl and ceased the water's flow. She was displeased with herself that she had let Shizuru get so deeply involved with her, but that couldn't be helped anymore. So she needed to keep her precious person safe, doing whatever was necessary.

When pulling a towel around herself she winced and was thus rudely reminded of the state of her sore body. Her attention was again drawn to her bandaged arm and she thought back to Nao.

Nao was a very interesting case. Even when Natsuki tried to treat her as an enemy it always turned out like a friendly adversary than anything else. That way Natsuki was more and more leaning towards considering the possibility that she had somebody with the same mind set right next to her. But the puzzle that was Nao had falsely lead her to that conclusion, as it had turned out that she was way more innocent and indecisive when compared to Natsuki.

Green eyes tiredly stared at the blurry reflection of a far too serious teenaged face. Natsuki reached out and slowly placed her palm on the clouded mirror's surface, then almost gently clenched her fist.

_**She needs a reason to fight.**_ Rang a deep male voice in the back of her head. _**You gave her a fight, but gave her no reason.**_

_She'll have to find her own reason…_ Natsuki bit her lip and retracted her hand only to place it on the wash-basin next to the other one.

_**What if she betrays you before that happens?**_ The 'conversation' continued. The question snapped her out of her state of trance and her emeralds flashed back with their usual sharpness and determination.

_She wouldn't. I won't let her._ She nearly stormed out of the bathroom into the dark dorm and threw the wardrobe open. Now with all the fatigue mysteriously gone, she pulled on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt (not before carefully choosing lingerie from her valued collection) with the clear intention to go to Nao's room and talk to her.

_**Are you planning on becoming her reason?**_ He asked again derisively.

_It's too late to turn back now. I've put too much time and effort into her. And into everything. Nothing must go wrong from now on! I must make sure…_ Natsuki silently locked her dorm and headed towards the door to Nao's which was not so far away.

* * *

Shizuru yawned and stretched in her uncomfortable chair. For being the student council president she had thought she would have received a better working station at her own room. She didn't appreciate the fact that her back ached from her unhealthily bent-forward position from working on the laptop.

Actually, 'work' wasn't the accurate term – she had once again sieved through the documents she and Natsuki had collected on the First District. But as much as she searched, she could find nothing new or crucial about the organization. It had taken both her and Natsuki (and, of course, Yamada) a lot of work to collect even what little they possessed as clues and leads to some people connected to the mysterious group.

Shizuru had her own ways to snoop around, which were way more subtle than Natsuki's rather violent approach towards matters concerning the First District. When they had learned to trust each other (after a certain unpleasant accident) Natsuki had decided to share with Shizuru that the organization she was secretly investigating had connections to the school. When Natsuki had requested help in accessing the school's database, she had successfully melted Shizuru's resolve not to indulge herself into more responsible duties than class-president. In the end of her first year (as such campaigns were usually led at that time in Fuuka Academy) she had, astoundingly, won the elections and had become the first future second-year to have ever made the post of student council president. Then her full cooperation with Natsuki had begun.

Both of them had since then secretly exchanged files, careful to not get caught and punished. Shizuru knew that she had gotten herself into a matter so extremely dangerous that it felt like she was juggling with glass bottles with nitro-glycerine. However she had decided to stand beside Natsuki at all times. Not only to aid her when needed, but also to stop her when she was making reckless decisions. So far Shizuru had achieved little success, even though she was always talking to Natsuki about their rebellion against the system. She felt like a nagging mother at some times and Natsuki often pointed that out, but she really couldn't help it. She had fallen so deeply in love that now she considered her lover's needs and desires to be her own.

Shizuru was afraid of herself. She was aware of her own feelings and their intensity terrified her out of her mind. She had already killed a person in the name of her love. What was next? Could she commit an act more terrible than this? The nightmares visited her almost every time she succumbed to sleep and she always woke by the sound of her own terrified screams. She thought this to be so sadly pathetic, such a disgraceful weakness. Never had she heard Natsuki cry in her sleep, never had she needed to confirm how strong her girl was. But she knew that Natsuki cried. She had cried the night she had killed for the first time. And the day after that, too.

The student council president stood up lazily and started getting ready for bed. She hoped that her Natsuki was getting her much needed rest at the moment…

A quiet knock on the door. It was nearly inaudible, but Shizuru clearly heard it. Curious as to whom it was at this ungodly hour, she opened before she asked for the person to identify themselves. Her reward for her bold action was an almost rude push inside and the intruder closed and locked quickly the door.

"Speak of the devil." Shizuru whispered to herself with pleasure.

"Huh?" Natsuki blinked and tilted her head in question.

"Never mind." The one clad in a light purple night gown answered. "I didn't think I'd get to see Natsuki again so soon."

Natsuki shrugged and moved past her lover, sitting at the desk. She glanced at the laptop's screen and she slightly frowned when she saw the opened files and photos. Without asking for permission she reached out and closed the device, after which she turned towards Shizuru's curious look.

"The tournament's tomorrow. Natsuki should be well-rested if she wants to win the first place and not be forced to disband the Bridge club." Shizuru advised as she moved to sit on her bed.

"I know. I can win even with a blindfold." Natsuki leaned on the chair's back legs and started rocking back and forth, while playing with a strand of hair. "I can't find Nao."

"Yuuki-han?" Shizuru asked, trying to hide the fact that she was upset not only by the abrupt change of topic, but also its target. "Why would she be needed for your sleep?"

"It's not like that." Natsuki protested tiredly. "I want to find her and talk to her about… some things."

"Ah. But doing this at such an hour…?"

"This was a guarantee that she'd be at her dorm, but she wasn't. I don't know where to look for her." Natsuki sighed, resting a hand on her eyes. "So I ended up coming to your place. Strange, huh?"

Shizuru smiled gently and hummed her response. "Is it really?"

The Ice Princess didn't even look directly at her when she grumbled instead of asking Shizuru what she meant.

"It is _you_ who wants to talk about something. Maybe I can be of help?" The student council president offered, but her proposal went unanswered. She sighed and decided it would be better for her to take the liberty and talk if Natsuki refused to do so. "Natsuki never wants to share any of her burdens with me, and this makes me extremely sad."

"That's silly. And this has got nothing to do with you."

"Doesn't it? I thought that now, after we're together, we would be able to confide in each other more easily. However, if it makes Natsuki that uncomfortable…"

"I've already told you that I…" Natsuki began, but brusquely stopped mid-sentence and got up from the abused chair. "You know what? I don't like talking about my thoughts and feelings regarding killing a person, because I don't need it. But because of that, I don't know what to say to others." She finally admitted with shame.

"You did a very good job when consoling _me_." Shizuru playfully jested, trying to lighten-up the mood. Natsuki was far too solemn and brooding for her liking. Her lover could be her serious self when she was fully rested and thinking clearly. The gang leader, though, didn't seem to appreciate Shizuru's good-natured efforts.

"Shizuru, you are an entirely different case." She sternly replied and after a short pause (during which Shizuru's lips pulled up in a very specific smile) her face gained a pink hue. Natsuki turned quickly away from a pair of two teasingly gleaming ruby eyes in order to escape further embarrassment. She cleared her throat.

"Anyway, I don't know what to do now." The Ice Princess confessed. "Everybody in the gang has somebody to confide in, to talk with when they need to, but Nao doesn't have anybody. I know that we are quite alike, however I can't escape the feeling that if I don't do something now, I'll lose a very important ally to uncertainty, fear and guilt."

"Is this how you see her?" Shizuru couldn't help asking.

"As an ally?" Natsuki inquired a bit confused at the tone in which the other's question had been voiced. "Yeah, how else should I see her as?"

"A friend maybe?" Shizuru slightly pursed her lips and unconsciously twiddled with the fabric of her sheets, which had been crumpled by her nervously clenching fists during the course of the conversation. "I don't know, we haven't talked in so long, and I'm not well acquainted with the situation."

"What do you mean? We talk at any given opportunity," countered Natsuki, obviously offended at the implication that she had been ignoring her most precious person.

"I don't mean it like that, Natsuki." Shizuru quickly defended, but her tone was more hurt than apologetic. "We haven't talked about anything beside… criminals, murder and secret organizations."

"But it's crucial we know about their movements!" The gang leader immediately protested, completely oblivious to Shizuru's primary vexation. "If we don't act now, it'll all be over. I can't let that happen, Shizuru!"

Natsuki had taken a defensive stance next to the student council president's curtained window. The owner of the room felt almost hurt at Natsuki's hostile reaction, but let it slide as she reasoned that the Ice Princess' rude behaviour was enhanced by the earlier events. She spoke, unmoving from her spot.

"I'm not your enemy, Natsuki." She reassured her lover, feeling like a tamer trying to calm down a frightened animal. And her little animal could be quite the dangerous predator, Shizuru had confirmed on not one occasion.

Shizuru's words visibly made the younger girl's mind at ease and she shook her head tiredly; Shizuru then noticed for the first time that those lovely dark tresses were slightly damp. She decided, with much reluctance, not to comment on that, but to return to the initial reason Natsuki had ended up at her room.

"I can see that Yuuki-han's absence bothers Natsuki immensely." Shizuru stated in an attempt to incite her lover to speak her mind. "May I be of assistance here?"

"I don't know." Natsuki returned to her normal speech pattern, though it was clear she was a bit angry – it was hard to tell if with Shizuru or herself. "Can you? Have you met with her tonight?"

"Yes, I have." Shizuru smiled comfortingly. "In fact, I saw her not too long ago. At the car park."

"What? Why didn't you say so earlier?" Natsuki asked excitedly. "And more importantly, what were you doing out so late?"

"I'm flattered by Natsuki's protectiveness, but she really shouldn't worry about me. After all, I am older and, pardon my candidness, way more prudent in my actions than a certain someone I hold very dear."

Natsuki glared at her.

"I talked to Yuuki-han for a bit and then she went off somewhere. Obviously she didn't listen to my advice to return to her dormitory." Shizuru dryly continued, only now realizing that she felt indignant after learning that her words of concern had been ignored. "I have absolutely no idea where she might have gone."

"What… what did you talk about?" Natsuki asked with faked nonchalance, through which Shizuru could see effortlessly.

'You.' Shizuru almost said, but caught herself before committing such a brainless act. The lack of sleep was getting to her as well, she guessed resignedly. "About your recent… exploits."

Natsuki blinked a few times and ran her hand through her hair in a nervous fashion. "Oh," she licked her lips, "what about them?"

A pair of crimson eyes narrowed as if threateningly at Natsuki, who seemed to have called upon all her willpower in order not to flinch. Shizuru ignored the suspicion rising in her chest in favour of their current discussion. She could indulge into interrogation later.

"She seemed greatly bothered by it all. I can't imagine what she's been through." Shizuru paused for a thoughtful moment. "I remember telling her that she might want to talk to somebody about it…"

"Let's hope she once again doesn't listen to you." Natsuki quipped, making her beloved lift a slender brow. "I, uh, mean that she shouldn't talk to anybody about… such sensitive stuff. Beside my people, that is."

"Well then, commander, where do you think she went?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be here."

"That was a rather hurtful comment, dearest."

"Sorry, but it's true." Natsuki leaned on the wall and peeked outside from behind the heavy curtains. "Who does that girl trust enough to go to?"

"I haven't the slightest idea in this occasion." Shizuru said almost ruefully. "Does she have any relatives she could visit for advice?"

"Her mother's in a coma in the hospital. I doubt it she would…" Natsuki stopped mid-sentence and checked if Shizuru was thinking like her. "Actually, she _would_ try and sneak into the hospital at night."

"I'm afraid that Natsuki has always made the most curious acquaintances."

* * *

Nao decided she didn't like the hospital's warden. To be fair, she decided that the moment he had grabbed her by the collar when she had tried to sneak in and had thrown her out on the street. And also had threatened to call the police if she didn't, as he had politely put it, 'beat it'.

Now, she was sitting on a bench in the park which was in front of the hospital, her knees pulled up to her chest and eyes staring off into nothingness. Nao admitted to herself with a sigh that she really needed to talk to her mother. She didn't even care if the woman heard her or responded; it was just important for her to get these thoughts out of her head as soon as possible. It felt like she was about to burst from all this pent up varying emotions, over which fear and anger were quickly gaining the upper hand.

For a place so close to the city's downtown, the hospital's park was unusually deserted and tranquil – it was normal for people to hang out during night-time here. But not this time; this time Nao had the entire ominous atmosphere to herself. Until she heard footsteps on the gravelled ground and jerked her head towards the source of the sound. The newcomer stopped a few feet away from her, standing casually in the light of a lamp post.

"Kuga." Nao muttered instead of a greeting. She rested her feet on the ground and watched as Natsuki came and slumped on the cold wooden bench. "Out for a walk?"

"Yeah," came the quiet response. Nao noted that her companion seemed out of breath, but was in no mood to gibe at the other girl.

"Would you mind, then? There's a whole park for you and you came and sat your annoying ass right next to me." Nao said, all the while staring ahead.

"So the guard threw you out, huh?" Natsuki asked, clearly choosing to ignore the spiteful remark. Nao turned to snarl at her, but stopped when she saw the calm and expecting look in those frustratingly green eyes.

"What's with the look, Kuga?" The freshman avoided answering. "Do I detect concern or are you just feeling ill and that's why you came to the hospital?"

"Do you want to detect something hard hitting you over the head? Maybe then you'd be let into…" Natsuki trailed off. Nao gulped; she knew a scheming expression when she saw one and in this case it had dawned on Natsuki's face too fast for her liking.

"No, no, no. No. I am not getting my head split open just to be able to get in there." Nao swiftly jumped to her feet, suddenly feeling her well-being endangered. "So you keep your destructive hands away from me. Do you hear me, Kuga?"

"Okay." Natsuki conceded after a thoughtful pause. "But you must admit it was a good plan. I would've been careful, too."

"I don't care. I like my head just where it is, thank you very much!"

A bush rustled near them and Nao slightly jumped, while Natsuki just glanced at it briefly.

"Do you want to check if it was a bunny or something?" Nao suggested only to fill the silence. "I mean, it can be some rapist-bunny…"

"And now that you rejected my offer, we need to think of a way to get you inside that bloody hospital." Natsuki said out of the blue before stifling a yawn.

"You really don't listen to people when you want to make a point, do you?" Nao grinded out, though she was secretly thankful to Kuga, who had come all this way to help her.

"That's not entirely true." Natsuki protested half-heartedly and then slipped a quiet comment. "It's gonna be dawn in a couple of hours."

"You didn't even try denying! You're shameless."

"I'm trying to help here, smartass."

"You think I'm smart? That's like a Nobel Prize if it comes from you! I'm flattered."

"Nao, shut up."

"What do you propose?" Nao regarded Natsuki with a serious expression. "We can't just go in there and beat the guy, can we?" After her accomplice lifted her brows, she corrected herself. "Fine, we can do that, but we won't. Right?"

"I'm afraid that we can't, no." Natsuki confirmed and Nao let out an inward sigh of relief. "We can do a basic duck*."

"Somehow, I expected something way more complicated and spy-like than that." The first-year commented dryly, a bit disappointed. But right now 'simple' was fine by her.

"It's relaxing to play it safe once in a while." The gang leader grinned and motioned for Nao to follow her. "I trust you understand what you have to do?"

"Hey, this was, like, on page twelve in that 'light reading' you tried to crush me with. Give me more credit, will you?" Nao snapped walking slightly behind Natsuki.

"Good. 'Cuz if you didn't, we're gonna be screwed at the tournament later today."

"I had totally forgotten about that… Hey, what do we do about the cameras that're in front of him?"

"Don't you worry about those."

* * *

Nao had to admit to herself that Natsuki had done a splendid job in distracting the guard so that she could infiltrate the facility. She hoped that Kuga wouldn't get in trouble for pretending to be a junkie, who had stormed into the hospital demanding with screams to see the 'spaceship's captain'. That little performance had not only made the man come out from behind his working place (leaving his cameras unobserved), but had also given Nao the perfect opportunity to stealthily sneak behind his back. Now, she had to get to her mother's room as quickly as possible, avoiding the personnel on a night shift on the way.

When she thought about it, they were lucky that hospitals worked all the time and there was no way that the entrance could be locked. After all, if an emergency happened, all the security would obstruct in saving somebody. Nao remembered many occasions on which medics had rushed heavily injured people through that entrance, simply because it was closer than the one intended for ambulances. She scoffed when she realized that she had spent more of her time here, than anywhere else. Up until this school year had started, that is.

Her feet carried her to her mother's room in a negative amount of time and without thinking about it, she opened the door and hastily entered. She was greeted by the life-supporting machines' beeping and the steady sound of the dripping of the IV. Nao knew that without all these technics her mother would be dead, but she still resented the thought that if, say, that cable over there were to be pulled out, everything would be over.

The freshman pulled a chair and sat next to her mother's bed. The woman didn't even look like herself anymore and Nao could barely recognize in her the person she adored so much. Nevertheless, this was her only remaining family and the human being she felt closest.

"Hi." Nao greeted lowly. "Sorry I barged in here at this hour, but I need to tell you something. I know that I haven't come since I last talked with the doctors about that new treatment, but there's been a lot going on in my life. I'm sure you'll understand."

Only the beeping responded to her as her mother remained with her eyes closed, pale and seemingly lifeless.

"There're these new people I've met. They are all really annoying and a pain to hang out with, but I think that they're the closest thing to friends I've had. But it's not about fooling around or hanging out in cafés that I want to talk to you about. You see, I've gotten myself in a whole lot of things I can't handle together with those guys and I can't see a way out. And a few hours ago I did something that guarantees there's no turning back for me.

"See, I killed two men. I know that's a crime and I'll probably get in prison if somebody found out, but… I don't know… If I hadn't done it…"

Nao paused and realized that she was shaking. She leaned forward and held her head, trying to calm down.

"I'm a part of a battle, in which not only my life is at stake if I make a wrong decision. I don't know how the others can handle it, but I'm still pretty shaken by having to fight. It's kill or be killed, actually. This doesn't excuse me, though.

"You know, I'd like to think that there's a big difference between killing and murdering. And I know I'm not a murderer – I don't even need for somebody to tell me that. I'm just sure I'm not. But… I'm afraid that I might become one, mama. I'm scared. And I've nowhere to run – Kuga has given me no options to escape. That constantly growling bloodhound has completely trapped me and while she gave me many things, she took away my free will. Don't worry, though, mama – I'll get it back. As soon as everything's over, I'll get it back and then you'll get better and we'll live together. Just the two of us; no gangs, crazy bitches and stupid government conspiracies."

Lifting her head up, she was once again discouraged by the lack of reaction from the motionless woman. And even if she was used to it by now, it still hurt to see her like that. Nao slowly stood up, careful not to accidentally push or damage any of the medical equipment.

"I'm gonna run now. I've got to get out of here before dawn or before Kuga gets detained."

Without any further ado, Nao headed towards the exit, where the guard, assisted by a young medical trainee, was still trying to convince the rioting Natsuki that there were no such things as green-haired spaceship Admirals. It looked like the warden was holding the girl, so that the distressed young man could examine her condition, however neither was doing a very good job.

Nao caught Natsuki's eye and just when she bolted out through the doors, she heard a scream, a quick nonchalant apology and running.

She and Natsuki both stopped their sprint at the other end of the park where they had met earlier, panting heavily.

"Did you," rasped Natsuki, "get to… talk to your mom?"

"Yeah," was the breathless reply. "Explained to her that her daughter is a criminal with an idiot as a leader. If she were awake, she'd surely have a heart attack."

"Why?" Natsuki panted, even though she seemed to have caught her breath.

"Oh, it's a mother-daughter thing, Kuga. Wasn't your mom charmed when you told her you planned a career as a renowned leader of a fearful crime syndicate?"

"Hell if I know." Natsuki coldly replied and started walking briskly back towards the campus. When Nao didn't follow, too surprised by the sudden change of mood, the gang leader paused and without turning around said:

"Come on. Are you going to stand there until those guys call the police?"

"Just so you know, Kuga," said the freshman after she caught up, "I'm not thanking you for this."

"Like I care for your gratitude." Natsuki snarled back, effectively ending their conversation.

"And so, as you can see…" As Mai spoke the words with which she intended to finish her mini-speech, she realized that there was no point of doing so, for the person who was supposed to listen had once again fallen asleep. With herculean efforts the president of the Bridge club held in an aggravated growl and cleared her throat instead. When she wasn't granted a result, she opted for a more violent approach.

"Midori-sensei!" She screamed in the hung-over woman's ear. This resulted in a surprised yelp and the '17-year-old' tutor jumped up from her comfortable position on the chair behind her desk in the teachers' room. She banged her head against her desk-lamp and slumped back down on the paper-covered surface with a groan.

"Mai-chan…" She whined slurring. "Not so loud, please."

"I wouldn't have shouted, had you paid any attention to what I was saying." Mai put her hands on her hips, just like a mother scolding her misbehaving child. "Do I have your attention now, sensei?"

"You've had it all along, my lovely student." Midori gave the younger red-head a goofy grin. "It's about this tournament of yours, right?"

"Yes, it's about the Sport Tournament which starts today and as our club's advisor, you are obliged to come along." The second-year explained calmly. Her teacher pouted childishly before her complaints started.

"But I don't know a thing about Bridge, Mai-chan! How am I supposed to be of help? I'm sure you and Natsuki-chan are perfectly able to take care of all the stuff…"

"We agreed upon signing the club's papers that it was your responsibility to take the club members to tournaments and supervise them." Mai pointed out, now her patience wearing thin.

"Because, there are going to be – what – other ten teams? Come on, Mai-chan! It's just our school and another public one. There's nothing to supervise." Midori looked up pleadingly from her half-lying position.

"No, this is a _sport_ tournament, and since Bridge is a sport, all sport clubs from our school will join the competitions. You are supposed to go, because all the other advisors from Fuuka will be going and it'll look bad. Both for you and the school." The exasperated club president enlightened the elder. "It says it in your job description. Besides, this year there will be professional teams from all over the world, since there aren't enough Bridge players here. So it's going to be bigger than last year's event. You must come."

Midori buried her face in the nearest pile of papers and let out something suspiciously close to a whimper.

"When and where?" She asked, her voice muffled, clearly indicating defeat.

"It starts in an hour and we're supposed to be there for the opening ceremony. And our turn's at late noon."

_And thank God; this morning Natsuki looked awful. She said she'd rest until the game, but… _Mai thought with some distress, recalling how her roommate had glared at her when she had woken her up and told her it was time to get up.

"Ugh…" Midori half sighed, half groaned. "Students… Love them or hate them, you just can't beat them up with a baseball bat."

"I'm still… standing right here, Midori-sensei." Mai indignantly stated. The teacher hummed.

"I know, I know. Wait for me at the front gates. I'll be there in ten." She instructed. "Also, bring along all the members, who'll participate and tell them to get it together. If we're going to play, we're going to win!"

_You don't even know the rules of the game…_ Mai retorted mentally, as she left the teachers' room.

* * *

Glossary:

*To duck - to play low to a trick, thus losing it intentionally.


	23. Chapter 23

_**A/N: I'm gonna keep this short. Life's been hellishly busy the past few months - university, exams, work... So I haven't been writing as much as I'd like to and I should admit that I've neglected my English a lot. This chapter's checked only by yours truly, so it's sure to contain mistakes. Another point I want to adress. To all the people who have reviewed, faved, put this story on alert: THANK YOU. I am terribly sorry I couldn't reply to the reviews personally, since I scarcesly spend time at home anymore. I thought it high time I posted a chapter as a form of an apology, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it! :3**_

**Disclaimer: The only thing I own are the meaningless story-line and a keyboard. Don't sue me!**

* * *

"All other clubs have big impressive flags. Why doesn't our have one?"

"Because it would be pointless…"

"I agree. What would it be anyways?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Could you stop talking? I want to sleep."

"At the opening ceremony? Natsuki, you can't be serious! You're the vice of the club!" Mai scolded her friend. Said friend had already closed her eyes and seemed to have fallen asleep while standing.

"And you're the real president, so suck it up, Tokiha. Kuga's already sleeping." Nao slurred from just beside Natsuki, her own eyes half-closed. Both were leaning on each other, ruining the otherwise perfect straightness of the row. All of the students from their school were lined in two orderly rows from one end of the vast dome to the other. People from other schools and even some professional sportsmen were filling the ranks of the other twelve or so rows.

Mai sighed and decided not to argue with the two girls, who, sadly, looked like death. All the other Bridge club members looked somewhat amused by the scene their three teammates were making and thus none of them were actually listening to the officials talking. Neither was the club advisor, who despite being on the platform together with the other teachers, looked like she belonged with the students below, with her outrageous red cape and all. Midori was yawning as if she was exercising her face muscles for an eating contest and it was obvious that what little attention she was paying was not directed at the speech's content, but at the government's spoke-person's well-shaped behind.

When everybody started clapping (after another boring ten-minute long speech) Mai realized it was time to wake her sleeping friend up with an elbow in the ribs.

If the sound of relieved clapping hadn't woken Natsuki up, it was the sudden jolt of pain on her left and the unpleasant hit of annoyance on her right (courtesy of Nao) that did the trick. Not bothering to reply with more than a grumble, she lazily clapped her hands while yawning.

"Sleepy, Kuga?" Nao leered at Natsuki.

"No rest for us wicked," was the dry reply and Nao couldn't help but shrug in agreement.

As the mass started moving towards the different events, the Bridge club along with its advisor gathered and looked through the Sport Tournament's schedule. After reading through the brochure, Midori decided to organize her students with newly found (God knows where) enthusiasm and motivation for victory.

"Okay, everyone! There is another four hours until it's our turn! Until then our Justice League will plan the defeat of the forces of evil!" Midori heroically posed in the rather big circle of club members which had now formed her. The fact that the students looked quite reluctant to be associated with the teacher went unnoticed and she continued. "I will take some of you and…"

"Screw this, I'm gonna go and have some sleep." Natsuki declared and started slowly walking away from the rest of the club.

"Sorry, but I'm with Kuga on this one." Nao turned on her heels and lazily glided towards the exit. Midori was left gaping after the two girls.

"W-Wait!" She shouted and ran after them waving her arms. "What about building a strategy, and searching for the opponents and revealing their weak points?"

Natsuki slowly turned around in annoyance and asked slowly, "What weak points when we're not even playing at the moment?"

Nao and the rest were equally interested in their teacher's answer, since they had also wondered what Midori's reasoning might be. Did she really have some secret way to reveal an opponent's weakness before they started the game? Maybe she wasn't such a useless advisor after all.

"I thought you might ask that." The '17-year-old' smirked enigmatically and rubbed her chin. Her hand shot towards Natsuki with her pointer finger directed at the girl's uninterested face. "What if one of your opposing players has a weakness for… uh, ice-cream? Then winning would be an easy matter!"

"What?" A boy asked, voicing everybody's complex thoughts.

"All we would have to do is place someone eating ice-cream across from him so he would be distracted! While his attention is drawn away by the delicious-looking frozen piece of heaven, you can do your hocus-pocus and snatch victory from under his ice-cream loving nose!" Midori passionately explained in a rush, desperate to keep Natsuki and Nao from leaving.

"What do you think we'll be playing, woman?" A few club members, including Mai and Nao, shouted at their advisor almost in unison.

"Idiot." Natsuki concluded, though she silently admitted that they could indeed cheat by using Coffeehousing(1).

"Hey, you can't talk like that to your teacher!" Midori protested, anger rising on her girly face. "It's bad for the team's morale!"

"_You're_ bad for the morale." Nao mumbled.

"Hold it right there!" Midori launched herself after Natsuki, stumbled and fell, but still managed to clutch at the girl's feet. "You can't go, Na-chan! I don't know much about Bridge, but I know one thing!"

"And what is that?" The gang leader sighed, too tired to even try and kick the advisor off.

"You're this team's only hope!"

"Well, that's mighty kind of you…" Chie pushed her glasses up and glared from behind them. The other club members crossed their arms and grit their teeth. Midori didn't need to turn around to confirm her fear that her reasoning had been wrong. Voicing it had been even worse.

"While that's true..."

"Don't go agreeing with her!"

"… I want to sleep." Natsuki finished in an even tone. "Get off."

"Natsuki's blunt as always." Mai nervously laughed, trying without any success to lift the air of killing intent hanging above the club members. "Everyone, why don't we go get some drinks and talk about what teams we'll form? Come on, Nao-chan, Natsuki. Don't be like that."

Mai pleadingly looked at Nao and then at Natsuki, greedily hoping not to be left in charge as usual when the vice just decided to ditch her. Nao sneaked a glance at Natsuki, who was irritably rubbing the bridge of her nose. The older red-head dared to smile knowingly, now sure that this was a sign that Natsuki would comply with her request.

"Fine, let's go check out the events." Conceded the Ice Princess and Midori jumped happily on her feet. The teacher spun joyfully towards her students as if she hadn't insulted all of them mere seconds ago and declared that the last to reach the drinks booth would be paying the bill before she dashed off.

* * *

"Look at Mikoto go!" Mai exclaimed and excitedly pointed at her roommate, who was currently on a winning spree, effortlessly beating the contestants from the other Kendo sport clubs and schools. Natsuki and Nao were simulating activity beside their enthusiastic friend, both of them not really interested in what was happening. Sure, Mikoto's abilities were impressive, but they were not something which would keep the two nearly asleep girls' attention.

The gang leader vaguely marked the presence of the student council's vice president – Kanzaki Reito, who was also cheering for his little sister. Her half-aware mind noted that he was gradually getting closer to their position, which proved to be a bit amusing to her, since his attempt to make his action seem casual in reality made it abnormally zealous. When he finally got to them, it was Mai who he greeted.

"Enjoying the match, Mai-san?" He politely initiated a conversation over the cheering. Kanzaki paid no attention whatsoever to the other two girls present, his smile reserved only for the blushing Tokiha Mai. Natsuki wasn't bothered by the lack of friendliness at all and by the looks of it, neither was Nao.

"Reito-san!" Mai nervously squeaked and the boy chuckled. When she regained her composure, Mai decided to grant him with a reply. "Yes, quite so. Mikoto is amazing, isn't she?"

"She is the pride of our family." Reito flashed his impeccable smile at the now beaming Mai. "Of course, there is not a single person in our family, who is not a prodigy. It is a given that she is also a genius in at least one aspect."

Just as she had opened her mouth to comment on his words, Natsuki was anticipated by the voice of her other friend.

"And in what aspect are you a genius, Kanzaki… senpai?" Nao's gibe successfully made that perfect and practiced smile falter. Natsuki had to hand it to Nao – not every girl had it in her to talk to Kanzaki Reito that way. It seemed that another common trait she shared with Nao was the dislike for sparkling pretty boys.

"If I reveal them now, Yuuki-san, that would leave no place for you to be impressed later." Reito replied swiftly, while Mai restrained herself from glaring daggers at Nao. Her resolution not to turn her head towards the younger girl resulted in the fact that she was maliciously staring at Kanzaki. His confused expression made Natsuki quietly snort as she suppressed her laugh. "Mai-san, did I offend you in some way?"

"Oh, no, I'm sorry!" Mai frantically waved her arms in front of her, as if trying to make the misunderstanding dissipate. Ashamed she turned towards the two competing unknown boys from some public school. "Let's watch the match!"

"Y-Yes… Let's…" Reito replied, having lost his confidence. Natsuki and Nao exchanged glances behind his back and both smirked.

Natsuki's eye twitched when she realized how unreserved she had come to act around Nao and quickly turned away, scrunching her brows. She could almost feel Nao's perplexed eyes on the back of her head, so without bothering to face the others she announced she was going to get refreshed. Not knowing, neither caring if she had been heard, she stalked away from the Kendo arena.

After walking aimlessly for who knew how long, she slumped on a shabby couch at the wall opposite from the big screens playing the different games. She relaxed and leaned her head backwards, closing her eyes.

Maybe she had over-reacted due to her fatigue. After today ended, she was going to sleep for three days straight. But that wasn't going to happen, was it? Well, if she took advantage of her current position and let herself drift to a short slumber it wouldn't hurt anybody, would it? Now, before anybody could disturb…

"Kuga Natsuki, correct?"

Kuga Natsuki growled. She felt somebody sitting beside her on the soft couch, which was supposed to be her comfortable refuge until it was time for the game. The intruder stayed silent and Natsuki came to the conclusion that if she didn't ask what was this about, the obstacle to her desired rest would remain unyielding, sitting by her side.

"Yes. What about me?" Natsuki gritted through her teeth, not sparing the newcomer a glance.

"My name is Miyu Greer," came the emotionless reply. When Natsuki cracked open a green eye to peek at the nosy girl, she almost jumped in surprise at the pinkish red orbs staring impassively back at her. What she let out as a reaction was that she straightened up a bit and looked attentively at the one sitting beside her.

Natsuki stopped herself from asking 'So?' and instead only lifted her brows, prodding Greer to continue. The neutral look the girl was sending her was unnerving and unnatural. The fact that Miyu Greer's hair was a colour between silver and light blue only added points to her general oddness.

"We're in the same year-group at Fuuka High School." Miyu informed her and Natsuki wondered how she could've missed out this unique individual. She was indeed wearing the same school uniform as hers.

"I take it you're not here to chit-chat?" The gang leader questioned, feeling her throat going dry. What exactly was it with this girl that made her so uneasy?

"Correct." Miyu confirmed, however before she could give her reason, she was interrupted by the ring of Natsuki's cell phone. Her piercing eyes darted towards the Ice Princess's blazer pocket, like she was aiming to silence the device with her stare.

"Sorry, I've to answer that." Natsuki said after seeing that it was Chie, who was calling. She flipped the phone open and pressed the receiver to her ear. "I'm listening."

"_I received an e-mail from one of the free-lances."_ Chie's troubled voice sounded from the other end of the line. _"You remember that guy we talked about last week?"_

Of course she remembered him. That foreigner Michael What's-his-name had come to Fuuka a few months ago in hopes of becoming a big fish in the underground business. He had been left surprised when he found himself at a dead end when Smith's men came to his place, 'warning' him about the situation in the city. Apparently he hadn't known that the crime in Fuuka was _that _organized.

The threats and beatings didn't stop him though, and he formed his own crime group. Natsuki was completely okay with that, since it meant more trouble for Smith. That Michael guy had the leader qualities to run well his gradually growing nameless gang and he made some changes in the distribution of wealth among the criminals. It was all perfect for the Ice Princess until one day Yamada informed her that this foreigner had started spreading the rumour that he was part of T.N.T.

She couldn't tolerate something like that and wanted to make sure those rumours stopped, but at the same time she couldn't risk to be exposed. This had led to her conversation with Chie the week before where they had discussed ways to stop the man without attracting too much attention. Still, at the present he posed no imminent threat to T.N.T., but Natsuki wanted to take him out of the picture nevertheless. And she didn't have the patience to wait for Smith to do that, since he was obviously failing.

"Yeah?" The gang leader waited for further elaboration on Chie's part.

"_Looks like he's been undertricked_(2)_. It seems like our long-time friends caught him with his guard down. He's being taken to the centre's hospital as we speak."_

"Where are you now?"

"_At the basketball court, but…"_

"Don't hang up yet." Natsuki instructed and turned rigidly towards Miyu. "I'm sorry. Talk to you another time."

As she was to get up Miyu said something that made her freeze. Her heart jumped into her throat for a second and after she made sure she could trust her voice, she turned towards Miyu, trying her hardest to keep on a confused expression.

"What was that?" Natsuki mentally congratulated herself for her ability to control her voice so well. She could not let anything slip by her mask after what she had thought she had heard.

"I will repeat. We, the Golden Era, are going to end the life of the new T.N.T. fraction leader while he's hospitalized." Miyu emotionlessly recited her earlier words and then further elaborated. "We'll cut the electricity and before the staff notices anything wrong that man will be dead."

_What's going on?_ Natsuki thought frantically. _Is she saying that just to test me? Does she know about Blackwood? Do those people have something on me or T.N.T.? How did they find out? But, whoever they are, they should know that I would consider this a trap. What is this person planning? _

"_Natsuki? Natsuki?"_ Chie was calling out to her from the other end of the line, but the gang leader found herself unable to answer. If she stalled her reply to Miyu more, it would give her away.

_They must've heard the rumours and are now making their move. Why tell **me**, though?_

"What are you saying?" Natsuki faked bewilderment. "Why are you telling me this? Who are you?"

"I'm saying that the Golden Era is now going to eliminate a vital part of the T.N.T. gang. Kuga Natsuki, your movements have been suspicious for the past few months. You are considered a threat." Miyu robotically explained as she got up. Natsuki became aware that she was also standing on her feet.

"What? Do you want me to call the police?" The gang leader continued to feign obliviousness. "I've no idea what you're talking about, you weirdo. You better creep back inside that hole you've been hiding in up till now!"

For the first time Miyu showed a flicker of emotion. The hairs on Natsuki's neck stood up as she registered that brief display of… irritation? The gang leader slowly lifted her phone to her year and discovered with relief that Chie still hadn't hung up. She decided to use the free-lances. Even if she was risking to be exposed, she couldn't let herself be caught here.

"I'm blocked(3). I need a steal(4) executed with the free-lances." Natsuki spoke as she was staring directly into Miyu's eyes. She knew she would regret her rash behaviour later. When she heard Chie's reaction of comprehension, she flicked her phone close and dropped it into her pocket.

"Calling the police would prove useless, but you are already aware of that." Miyu Greer said, seemingly ignoring Natsuki's action. "Give up, Kuga Natsuki. T.N.T. cannot beat Searrs or the Golden Era."

_Does she think I did something irrelevant? But it's suspicious no matter how you look at it, even if she doesn't understand our code. Or does she consider that no matter what I do, I can't run away? Who're these Searrs people she keeps talking about? Are they related to the Golden Era? Who are they? _

"I told you already – I've no idea what you're saying!" Seeing that her act of confusion did not come even close to fooling Miyu, Natsuki switched to being aggressive. She contemplated that maybe the quick change of emotion would suffice to convince the silvery haired student.

"This is a lie. Your heartbeat and pupils gave you away." Miyu stated in her even voice.

_My pupils? And more importantly – my pulse? How is she able to…?_

"Out of my way." Natsuki ordered in a cold and dismissive tone, while shaking on the inside. For the first time in months she was genuinely scared.

"Futile. You'll be detained here." Miyu reached for her and Natsuki took a step back, preventing the other girl from grasping her arm.

"Get away from me!" Natsuki demanded, causing a few passing students to look their way.

_What's taking those guys so long?_ The gang leader screamed in her head, starting to lose her cool. She knew she had to stay calm and collected at such occasions; however, she was also aware that her weariness and the stress were finally getting to her. And what was with this Miyu Greer?

Natsuki's situation didn't look bright at all; it seemed that Miyu wasn't going to just let her walk away. Something told Natsuki she should keep her distance from the pale girl and not allow her to get nearer. The Ice Princess's only hope at the moment was the free-lances – a group of students and adults, who were ex-gangsters. They had been made unofficial members of T.N.T. after the group had defeated their own previous gangs. Blackwood had offered them to join T.N.T. as free-roaming agents, who had only two obligations towards the gang – to send every piece of information to a virtually untraceable server and to execute a total of three simple commands received by e-mail. What they would get in return would be benefits in many aspects when T.N.T. took all the power in the city.

Having to choose between death and those conditions nearly nobody had refused the offer yet. And all of those who accepted knew that even thinking of betrayal would be a one-way ticket to the bottom of Fuuka Bay. Until this moment Natsuki hadn't used her right to give commands to those 'free-lances', as she had come to call them, but now the circumstances were pressing. She was sure that at least a fourth of the free-lances were at the tournament either as contestants, or as spectators. The ruckus they were to create was supposed to help her escape from this Miyu Greer person.

Once she got back to the school, she would be safe – no Searrs, Golden Era members or whoever outside of the First District could harm her there. And the First District agents still had no idea of her activities or were giving no indications that they actually knew.

Natsuki took another step back and when Miyu closed the distance between them, she hastily spun around and dashed towards the nearest sport tribunes she could see. She could feel Miyu's fingers brush against her elbow as she was turning her back on her, but luckily enough for her, she wasn't caught. Natsuki dove straight into a crowd formed around the Judo arena, not daring to look behind her back. While wildly looking around for one of the free-lances' faces, she spotted two. One of them was just going out on the arena as a contestant and the other was a spectator. She launched for the spectator's location and as soon as he saw her and recognized her as Kruger, he nodded and without any trace of hesitation slammed the back of his hand in the face of the other man standing beside him.

From the corner of her eye, Natsuki noticed that there was some sort of problem on the arena and when she directed her gaze at the competitors, she saw that the judge was arguing with the free-lancer about using a prohibited move on his opponent. Things inside and throughout the Judo arena started to get heated as in the matter of seconds half of the people were drawn into a meaningless fight.

Natsuki dodged a few sloppily directed at her hits and hoped that Greer had been caught up in the general confusion.

It was common knowledge that the intelligence of a big crowd was one, divided by the numbers of people in it; the gang leader was glad that this universal rule was going to be of help to her this time. After the first hit had been delivered, one kick lead to a punch and very soon every single person was trying to get either out, away or even. However, luckily, most participants were giving their all to get even and so Natsuki was one of the few who were desperately struggling to escape. Relying on the years spent in brawls on the streets, she managed to fight her way out of the crazy mass in a negative amount of time.

As she was sprinting away towards the exit, she ventured to look over her shoulder. Miyu Greer was out of sight. Natsuki inwardly sighed in relief and resumed her efforts to run away as fast as her feet could carry her. But then she spotted Mai and Nao, who were both staring with their mouths agape at the mass-fight not too far from them. Natsuki's heart stopped as she witnessed in slow motion how Chie practically materialized beside the two other girls and told them something, which caused Mai to pale and Nao to freeze.

_No! She can't know! _Natsuki silently screeched when Nao also dashed for the exit, followed closely by Mai, who was obviously trying to stop her, but couldn't, for the agile first-year was undoubtedly faster.

_Stupid Chie! _The gang leader exasperatedly growled in her mind and begged her feet to carry her faster. _And that idiot is heading straight towards the trap!_

Unfortunately, the distance and all the people in her way prevented her from reaching Nao and Mai before they had, from her point of view, shot out of the dome into the street. This whole event had turned into one wild pursuit, in which Natsuki was exactly in the middle. She was no longer concerned with her own predicament concerning Miyu Greer, who had been left inside the dome. Hopefully.

What she wanted to do was stop Nao before she did something reckless; there was also the problem of getting all of the other club members back into the relative safety of the school campus. She whipped out her phone and mailed Chie. As much as she was furious at her friend, Chie was the only person she could trust at the moment to get the others away from the Sport Tournament.

Natsuki could barely see Mai's back turning around a corner, but Nao stayed out of her sight. The gang leader cursed at all the people bumping into her, while Mai and Nao's sprint didn't seem to be obstructed by anything. As she thrust past another elderly person and his wooden cane, Natsuki slipped into a narrow alley, which was surely going to shorten her path to her final destination.

When she neared the other end of the dank passage she saw Nao flash past it and a few seconds later Mai did the same. Now she was hot on their trail. Natsuki shot out of the alley and almost fell when she took a sharp turn, completely entangled in the hot chase. Gaining her balance while on the move, she continued her mad dash towards what she knew where they would come to a halt. She was just a few seconds behind them…

Suddenly Mai rooted to her spot and Natsuki, being an innocent victim of physic laws (namely inertia), slammed her whole body into her friend's back and both of them daubed on the hard pavement. Not knowing what had hit her, Mai attempted to fight her assailant off, but was stopped when she heard a familiar moan.

"I'm the one…" Mai gasped out in pain, "… whose face met first with the ground…"

"Shut… up…" Natsuki groaned and made to get up with quite some difficulty. "Why… did you stop like this?"

"Why, you ask… I lost her." The president of the Bridge club rolled onto her back to look at her friend with reproach, but was taken aback at the killer-stare she was receiving. "What?"

"Don't you know where she's going, idiot?" Natsuki irately hissed at Mai, who was now trying to steady her footing, while trying to glare back.

"How would I? I followed her only because I sensed she was going to do something stupid. I don't read minds!" Mai snapped back and trailed after Natsuki, she having already taken off in a jog.

"We've got to stop Nao!" The gang leader retorted before breaking into a full-out run.

Mai's silence most likely meant that she had decided not to ask questions and follow Natsuki instead. She was bound to understand what was going on eventually.

When Natsuki spotted Nao, the younger girl was trying to make her way. This time, when there were no 'hurdles' in her way, Natsuki's better abilities as a sprinter enabled her to catch up to the other girl faster than before. Having no time to reach out and pull both of them to a stop, she jumped forward and braced herself for a second impact within the framework of the past two or so minutes.

In this case, though, the collision wasn't unintentional and the two girls landed on the ground with Natsuki tightly clutching the startled Nao before she had the chance to close the thirty-meter gap to the hospital's entrance. The battered and bruised Natsuki willed herself not to let go no matter what violent reaction Nao had prepared in store for her.

However, before any of them could react in any way they heard a crack, a few panicked yells, and then all fell silent. The people on the street that had stopped to look at the two fallen girls were now turned towards the hospital, where all the commotion was coming from. Soon a crowd started to form around the entrance, the curious citizens inquiring about what had happened. Natsuki hadn't noticed when Mai had helped her and Nao up, or when her protégée had run off again. The gang leader was standing now alone, having already lost sight of her two friends who had disappeared in the crowd.

Thoughts about Miyu Greer started to emerge in her head, her confusion and unexplainable panic gaining an upper hand over rationality. Helplessly she discovered that she was being completely overtaken by this unknown terror. Mentally bracing herself, Natsuki slowly started making her way towards the hospital. Her survival instincts were telling her to get away from this place as soon as possible.

When she reached the hospital's crowded entrance, she looked around for any signs of red hair. However, she didn't even need to search for that distinguishing feature both her friends possessed, since all she had to do was follow the very familiar cries of anger.

"Let go, Tokiha!" Nao roared and pushed Mai away from her, as she stalked away from the crowd. Natsuki got just in time at the scene to try and prevent more from happening. She stood in front of Nao, not intending to move an inch. Her eyes met with her friend's watery lime ones and she understood what had happened at once.

"Kuga…" Nao croaked, struggling to hold in her tears. "I'll kill them, Kuga! Move!"

Natsuki grabbed firmly Nao by the shoulders and shook her head negative.

"Not today." The Ice Princess stated, desperate to end this sooner, so that the three of them could get to safety.

"Not today?" Nao dug her nails into the arms holding her. "When? Those people…"

"Which people?" Natsuki shouted in the shorter girl's face. "Do you even know who they are? We can't waste time here! What we need to do is…"

"Don't tell me what I need to do!" The first-year lowered her voice and narrowed her eyes. She closed the distance between them and pulled Natsuki down by the collar. "I'm fed up with this, Kuga. My mother, she…"

Natsuki stayed silent as she watched how Nao attempted with frustration to continue talking, but couldn't. It seemed that she wasn't able to stop the tears rolling down her cheeks and the painful sobs ripping out of her chest.

"She's… they… And you…"

Mai approached the two of them and rested her consoling hand on Nao's back.

"Let's go back." Natsuki squeezed her friend's shoulders. "I promise you that those bastards will pay tenfold for what they did."

"Can't I… can't I at least go see her?" Nao rasped as she turned towards the entrance, where other people were shouting, wailing and begging to be let in, but were held outside by the guards. She bit her lip as she turned to look pleadingly at the grave Natsuki.

"I'm sorry." The gang leader whispered, voice regretful. "We have to run."

* * *

Glossary:

(1) Coffeehousing – making improper remarks to mislead the opponents, or asking improper questions designed to suggest a defensive play.

(2) Undertrick - a trick that declarer does not win, causing the contract to go down.

(3) Blocked – if a suit is divided between partners in such a way that the hand with the shorter holding has only high cards, the suit cannot be run without an entry in another suit; it is then said to be blocked.

(4) A steal – to gain an advantage, usually through deception. Despite the term 'steal', deception is entirely legal if it does not involve unauthorized information or concealment of information to which the opponents are entitled. /Not in this case though. *snicker*/


	24. Chapter 24

**_Hi, y'all! I know, I know. It's been four months since I last posted something and I'd practically disappeared, but now I'm back. I'm not sure for how long, but I intend to frequent my updates, since I'll be switching jobs soon and hopefully I won't be as busy as before with university. Also, it appears that when I'm extremely and constantly pissed, it's easier to write. Yey, right? But this chappie was written some time ago and to be honest I hate it. I really, really hate it. I don't know why. I just do. _**

**_To everybody who has bothered to open this after so long: I hope I don't disappoint. I can't be sure if the quality has gone up or has died in the gutters, but I tried to salvage what little I liked about this chapter and put it again together. I didn't do a good job, however I hope I'll be able to compensate with the updates to come.  
_**

**_Anyways, expect said updates somewhere in the near future. I would like to thank all those who reviewed, faved and put a watch on this story. And if some other authors are reading this: thanks for fighting the good fight and keeping this fandom alive! If it were filled with bafoons like me, it would be dead long ago. Cheers to you!_**

**_CAUTION: CHAPTER RIDDLED WITH MISTAKES! PROCEED ON YOUR OWN RISK!  
_**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just a bed and a toothbrush._  
_**

* * *

"Mai-san! What happened?" Kimura Kaede was the first to speak when Mai entered the club room. The club president's eyes were cast down, her shoulders slumped.

"We were told by Harada-san to leave the dome just when all the commotion started."

"Our club never took part in the tournament. What's going to happen now?"

"Where are Kuga-san and Nao-san?"

"We heard that there was an accident at the hospital…"

"Do you know anything?"

"Damn it, you guys!" Chie angrily outshouted all the questions, seeing that Mai was beginning to feel more and more uneasy after each of them. "You're worse than I am. Let the girl take a breath!"

Mai smiled weakly at her friend in gratitude and slowly made her way to an empty chair. After she sat down, a few moments of silence passed before she straightened up, cleared her throat and started answering her anxious teammates.

"The Golden Era is on to us, or so Natsuki told me. The instant Blackwood got wind of that, an order of retreat was issued. We're safe as long as we stay inside the school's campus, but we don't know how many of us have been discovered. We've received orders to lay low for the time being."

Mai hadn't really thought about what to tell the others. She hoped that this version wouldn't be different than Natsuki's. The actual leader hadn't been of much help, since she had disappeared soon after they had set foot behind the campus' gates.

_I can't tell the others that the Golden Era has drawn the bead on Natsuki; it would raise their suspicion. And while I think that it's high time we stopped hiding from them, it would do little good now. I hate it when I have to lie to them…_ The club president sighed inwardly and summoned all the authority and solemnity she possessed as she continued speaking.

"As for the incident at the hospital, it was connected to the Golden Era. They were targeting a man, rumoured to have connections to T.N.T. He was eliminated and his group is probably being taken care of at the moment.

"All patients who were on life-supporting machines at the time are either in a critical condition, or have passed away during the one-hour crisis. Unfortunately, we got wind of the Golden Era's intentions too late and were unable to prevent this tragedy.

"None of us are to leave the campus' grounds till further notice – for security reasons. Also, keep an eye out for Miyu Greer and try to steer out of her way. As of now, she is the greatest threat we know of. This is all I know of. I suggest you all return to your dorms and continue to attend classes like normal tomorrow. If somebody asks why we didn't take part in the tournament, tell them it was my decision and don't elaborate any further." Mai finished and ran her gaze expectantly over all her comrades. There seemed to be no sign of doubt in what she had just said, but nevertheless they all looked troubled about this predicament. "I won't lie to you that the situation's not looking good for us. Our club will, most likely, be disbanded in the near future. In the eyes of the school's board we are only taking up space and funds."

After nobody made a move to leave the club president frowned. Seeing the displeasure slowly creeping on her classmate's face and probably afraid that this time Mai would finally snap, Chie again served as the voice of reason for a second time.

"I think we should all leave." She stated with a strained, albeit reassuring smile, covertly nudging Aoi, who started nodding in agreement at once. "If there's anything new, Mai-kun and Natsuki-kun will contact us. Right?"

"Yes. Yes, we will. The instant we receive more information on the matter, we'll tell everybody." Mai thanked silently Chie for her timely assistance. "Please, everyone. Don't make things more difficult than they already are. I'm sure that in a few days we'll have more clarity on the matter. But for now…"

"We understand, Mai-san." Dekasugi helpfully interrupted her and as an example was the first to excuse himself and leave. He was followed by everybody else, making Chie and Aoi the last ones to stay with Mai.

"Mai-chan, are you alright?" Aoi questioned, cautiously approaching her friend.

"No, Aoi-chan. Many things went wrong." Mai folded her fists into her lap and indignantly stared at the worn out wooden floor. "T.N.T. is in grave danger and we can only hide for now, beaten and afraid. Nao-chan's mother died and we could do nothing about it. I could do nothing, but stare as those patients were killed because of us."

The two master-informants stood there in shocked silence, not able to do more than stare at the ground. Mai squeezed her lilac eyes shut, but this wasn't enough to stop a few tear-drops falling on her white knuckles.

_That's right. Like always I could do nothing to help._ She sniffed and stifled a sob by pressing her palm to her mouth. _What is this feeling of uselessness? Why won't it just go away?_

Chie kneeled before her and put her own shaking hands on top of her friend's cold ones. Mai looked up and she let the tears freely cascade down her reddened cheeks.

"Chie-chan, it's partly my fault. Had my head not been in the clouds, Natsuki wouldn't have met with Miyu-san alone. If we had been together at that time, I'm sure that…"

"…Things would have gone exactly the same way." Chie spoke calmly, though it could be seen that she was also immensely upset. "Trust me, nothing would've changed. It wasn't your fault, Mai."

_Am I so insignificant that I wouldn't have made a difference in the odds?_

* * *

"Go away."

"Ouch. I'm hurt."

"See if I care. Leave me alone!"

"I like this place."

"I'll go somewhere else, then!"

"I love every stinkin' corner of this city, remember?"

"Stop following me around!"

"I'm not. I'm always one step ahead."

"I hate you! Hear me?"

"You don't mean that."

Nao whipped around and stared with as much malice as she could muster at the sedate Natsuki; the older girl stood there unimpressed and didn't even consider the possibility of leaving. She was just rooted there, unmoving, her emeralds focused on one of the targets at the archery club's practice field. Both she and Nao were seated under the shelter designed for spectators and archers taking a brief rest. The Sport Tournament being at its height, there were no other people there beside the two of them.

After coming back to the school Nao had attempted to run off on her own, but Natsuki wasn't about to let her. She felt it her responsibility to be by the freshman's side during such a delicate time. And on top of that (somewhere deep, deep inside) she considered Nao her friend, which meant that letting her suffer on her own was definitely unthinkable.

Natsuki preferred to face such difficulties by herself and had done a good job so far, considering that her life was marked with vicissitudes. And she was still standing firm, albeit emotionally scarred forever by loss and hate. However, this mattered little to her, because the aspiration for her goal was stronger than anything.

But Nao was different and needed somebody to be with her. Despite the tough font she put up, she was still fragile and prone to doubts and fears. Her resolve to fight was yet to be forged and Natsuki felt guilty for using this opportunity to do just that. Of course, that had not been her initial intention as she had been greatly concerned about her friend.

During the whole chase around campus, though, this awful thought that she should make the best use of this occasion had popped into her head. When she was not able to get rid of this kind of reasoning, she decided to push it at the very back of her mind for the time being. It kept presenting itself in different forms: 'Why not give her names?' or 'If you reveal this and that, she'll give her all to bring those guys down. Wouldn't that be of great help?'

Natsuki sighed and sneaked a glance at Nao, who looked bent on completely ignoring her presence. If that helped her, Natsuki reasoned, there was no harm in doing it. The Ice Princess was prepared to sit there in silence together with her protégée for however long it was necessary.

_If that's how she wants it to be, it's fine. I was partly responsible for this. As her friend and a comrade, I've got to be here for her. At this moment, that's what's important._ Natsuki continued silently to observe how Nao – who had drawn her knees up to her chest and had tightly hugged them – was spitefully trying to stare down a bird, which had found something to eat in the grassy field.

_**Personal's not the same as important.**_ The familiar by now male voice jumped in on her musings. _**When it's you it's concerning, you just start thinking it is.**_

_I don't care. It became important the moment I was the only one who she could turn to. It now concerns me, ergo it's important._ Natsuki argued back, pissed at the voice for always questioning her and her decisions.

_**Why are you so sure that you're the only one, who can provide support for her, you conceited girl?**_ The tone changed from carping to sardonic, causing Natsuki to frown deeply.

_I made sure of it._ She bitterly replied in her head. Only a dry chuckle followed and it didn't come from her throat.

_I must be getting out of my mind…_

"Most likely. Isn't it getting pretty crowded in there?" This time it was Nao's voice that answered her and Natsuki's frown quickly changed to an expression of utter surprise.

_Did I say that out loud?_

_**Oops.**  
_

"What?" She choked out, not entirely sure what to make of the unusual situation she had gotten herself into. Nao only pursed her lips in annoyance and once again averted her eyes.

"Well, you did sound pretty pissed just now." Nao didn't make an effort to particularize more than that, but it was enough to confirm Natsuki's suspicion. "But isn't it really? I mean, with all those things going on inside your head, it would be normal to…"

"Yeah, perfectly normal." Natsuki muttered.

"What's wrong, Kuga?" The freshman suddenly asked after a brief silence.

"Hm?" Nao was given a questioning look.

"Aren't I the one, who needs cheering up? Instead you seem as depressed as I am." Natsuki inwardly groaned and rubbed the back of her neck. Was she that obvious?

"I was just thinking. Besides, it you once told me that I always looked like doom were hanging above my head. Aren't I always grim in your eyes?" Natsuki bent her head backwards and started studying a rather impressionistic spider web on the shelter's ceiling. Nao snorted.

"Not really." She quietly replied, as if trying not to be heard. Natsuki didn't look her way. "Anyway, now that we've been appropriately human towards each other, what is it that you want?"

"Uh… what, you ask…" The gang leader wasn't prepared for this kind of question. "Isn't it obvious?"

"You wouldn't know obvious if you hit it between the eyes." Nao dryly stated in exasperation. "Usually, there's always some ulterior motive with all you do. You can't wipe your ass without scheming something."

"And since when do you know me so well?" Natsuki indignantly inquired, her attention now fully focused on her conversation partner.

"I watch and learn." The second-year blinked slowly and then let a self-reproaching smile swim up on her lips.

"Maybe you're right." She conceded, albeit a bit reluctantly. "But your example was quite… disturbing. Should I be afraid for my privacy, little creeping spider?"

"Don't flatter yourself, mutt. I was only being poetic."

The bird flapped its wings and hurriedly flew away, its meal rudely interrupted by a stone having been thrown its way.

* * *

Shizuru frowned at her laptop's screen. She didn't like what she was seeing at all. Even though she felt a small bit satisfied that she was able to attain a new piece of information, the things she uncovered weren't a cause for joy. Should she call Natsuki and tell her? No, this could wait until after the tournament ended.

The student council president started the file download from the main server to her portable computer. She had decided to make the best use of this once in a lifetime situation to burrow into the archives in the Headmistress' office, without the threat of being discovered. After all, Himeno Fumi was once again on some official trip and most of her colleagues were absent, due to the fact that today was a class-free day. It was safe to say that the school was pretty much deserted and the possibility of her being caught red-handed was indeed very low. Also, this was the only faculty room on the whole campus that didn't have a surveillance camera installed.

The download process was half-way finished, so Shizuru let herself indulge in her musings. The information she had dug up confirmed one of Natsuki's theories and answered a few questions they had been asking themselves for some time now. Though, she still had no idea who was pulling the strings behind the First District; if it was Headmistress Himeno, she was doing a poor job in hiding it. Then again, they also knew very little of the organization's agents and were hardly acquainted with their current plans. It was so difficult fighting an invisible opponent. It seemed that the more they learned, the more they got tangled in this web of deception.

Lost in her thoughts, Shizuru didn't even hear or notice the door open. When she was addressed, it was already too late to try and cover up what she was doing.

"Shizuru-san, what an unexpected surprise!" Reito exclaimed and closed the door behind his back. Had she been of a more panicky type, Shizuru would have jumped up from her seat behind the fumed oak desk, but being who she was, she only calmly smiled. Her red eyes traced Kanzaki Reito's gaze towards the cable connecting her laptop to Himeno Fumi's impressively large desktop computer.

"Ara, Reito-han! A surprise, indeed." She tried to collect herself and prepare for another round of the game she and Reito constantly played. "Are you here to enjoy the Victorian interior of the Headmistress' office?"

Shizuru motioned at the choice of heavy hangings, expensive and grand furniture, as well as the luxurious carpet. Towering shelves of documents were lining the walls, each and every piece clearly a work of a dextrous carpenter.

"I do agree that Headmistress Himeno has an extraordinarily good taste." Reito walked over to a copy of a famed landscape painting and fancied it for a bit before continuing. "However, I am not admirer of this kind of European furnishing. As far as I remember, neither are you, Shizuru-san."

The President stayed silent as Reito slowly made his way towards her, smiling pleasantly all the while.

"Which brings the question: what are you doing here, while the Headmistress is absent?" He stood before her, his eyes expectantly observing her. Waiting and watching for any possible slip on her part.

"You're perfectly well aware that I am trusted to do a lot of Headmistress Himeno's work. There is nothing unusual in my being here." Shizuru answered. She heard the distinct bleeping noise signalizing that the information transfer had been finished, but she neither disconnected the data cable, nor closed her laptop. Instead, she sat calmly, expecting her Vice's next move. He snuck a glance at the window overlooking the beautiful garden and then turned his attention back to her. They kept looking at one another searchingly, two similar minds speeding in the same direction down a narrow road, anticipating for the other to reverse first.

"I would suggest we took a walk." Reito suddenly proposed in his usual light-hearted manner and motioned for Shizuru to gather her things.

"I don't see why not." The student council president agreed, as she stood up and swiftly pulled the cable out of the computer's jack. She really had no more work to do at the office and Reito's offer was highly welcomed; and extremely suspicious. Somehow she managed to gather her belongings in a hurry without looking like she was in a rush – she took great pride in those abilities.

"Let us be off now." Shizuru calmly suggested and her companion nodded.

They walked down the corridor, leading towards the previous student council room, which had not been in use since the whole hostage fiasco.

"Did the tournament end already, Reito-han?" Shizuru inquired as the boy opened the sliding door for her and they both entered. "Ah, how nostalgic…"

"It is, isn't it?" Reito walked to the windows and popped his head outside, looking around for something. When he seemed satisfied, he closed the window noiselessly. "To answer your previous question: yes and no. The tournament ended for Mikoto, since she finished all of her matches earlier than expected."

"Did she do well?" Asked Shizuru, trying to suppress the feeling of unease which had started to swell up in her chest.

"Yes, she did… Shizuru-san, I believe that you would be interested in what happened afterwards." The Vice-president allowed a slight frown to appear on his handsome features. "But first, you need to tell me something."

"What would you want to know?" The girl didn't bother with formalities any more after seeing that they had already crossed the line between friendship and the real deal.

"Why are you so interested in the First District? Who are you working for?" Reito inquired in a deeper voice, his whole aura becoming dark and ominous. Shizuru took a sharp intake of breath.

"I can't answer you." She replied evenly, even though on the inside she felt anxiety enveloping her. "How do you know about the First District?"

"From a very young age I have been groomed to become the First District itself." Reito replied with a low chuckle and a sombre smile Shizuru had never seen on his boyish face. "I'll ask again: what do you want with this organization, Shizuru-san?"

Shizuru stayed silent. She wasn't sure what would be considered as a suitable answer; not when she was talking to this stranger in Reito's skin. Her Vice didn't seem displeased with her lack of cooperation, but amused instead. Unconsciously she tightened her hold around her bag's grip.

"Your devotion is admirable, but it will not help you now." He tilted his head and lifted one brow. "Do you know why that office is the only place on campus that is not surveyed by a camera?"

"Surprise me, Reito-han." Shizuru calmly accepted that her assumptions had been wrong if he was asking her that.

"Because, Shizuru-san, in Himeno Fumi's absence that room is under the watch of one particularly gifted person." The Vice-president informed his superior and observed as a small crack appeared on her perfect mask. "You know what that means, right?"

_That means that they already know that I've dug up information on them. The new question is: why have they not taken care of me yet?_

"I can imagine that you are asking yourself why you are still… around. That's an easy one, Shizuru-san." Reito started pacing around the room in a relaxed light step. "We couldn't link you to anybody. The data you had so far extracted wasn't crucial for us, so we let you continue your activities in wait for you to make a mistake and give away your employer. Though you never did and I congratulate you on that. However, the game you've been playing has gotten dangerous as of late. I don't want you to get hurt, Shizuru-san."

"If you're telling me to cease what I've been doing, because it is too dangerous, why do it now? And why do it at all? From now on I will get even more cautious and the probability of the First District uncovering more about my intentions will be even slimmer." Shizuru intently followed each and every one of Reito's reactions, but he was as good as hiding his thoughts as she was. "How do your current actions benefit your group, Reito-han?"

"They don't." He turned towards her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "But they benefit me."

"This is not how a future leader should be thinking or acting." The student council president softly spoke. "Doesn't the organization stand above all?"

"Not for me, it doesn't." The Vice sighed animatedly and Shizuru wondered whether he shouldn't have taken up a career as an actor. "It's only a cell, Shizuru-san. One I cannot escape on my own, for there are too many things keeping me chained between its thick walls. I do have a heart, which cares for others, loves, desires, hates… Just as much as yours does."

"Are they threatening Mikoto-han?" Shizuru keenly inquired and Reito grimly nodded. "You said you can't escape by yourself. Are you asking me for assistance?"

"I indeed am." He admitted with a trace of shame in his voice. "I reckon that you're with some brave and stubborn people if you're going against the First District. I need your help and in return I'll tell you _everything_ that I know."

Shizuru observed silently the determination written all over his face and evident in his stance. The shock from finding out that one of her closest people was such an important figure in the organization she was intent on taking down was definitely making her cautious. She couldn't risk Natsuki and the others' safety just out of sympathy for her friend. Though if what he was telling was the truth, helping him was the best option she had at the moment. Certainly, he had driven her to a position in which she could hardly refuse his offer of truce. She smiled, which made him relax his nearly unnoticeably rigid posture.

"Then you'd better start talking, Reito-han, because I'm not giving out my associates' identities for free." Her words were said with a weight that made sure it wasn't up for negotiations.

"How would I know that you won't betray me?" Reito lifted a brow questioningly.

"It was you who sought out my help, no? Blackmail doesn't become you." She cut off his protest. "Even if you capture me, the identity of the people I'm with will remain hidden. We're very careful. The earlier slip-up was due solely to my over-confidence."

"Very good. I concede." The Vice sighed in defeat and shook his head, lifting up his hands in defeat. "You're merciless, Shizuru-san. The perfect ally."

They shared a moment of tranquil silence, both of them seemingly glad of the outcome.

"All that we need now is some tea." Shizuru whimsically sighed.

"I believe there is some left in the cupboard. Should I prepare a cup or two?" Reito elegantly offered.

"That would be greatly appreciated."

* * *

"Doesn't your ass hurt from sitting on this bench for so long?"

"Dunno, doesn't yours?" Natsuki asked her companion, who was lying stretched next to her on the hard surface.

They had been at the practice grounds for three mute hours. Neither of them had taken the initiative to start a conversation during that time, not really feeling like it. Nao had broken the stillness first.

"Nah." The freshman had her eyes shut and a pensive expression had been present on her youthful face for the past few minutes.

Natsuki was still thinking about the earlier events, her emeralds distant and reflecting the light of the setting sun. She went over things slower this time, hoping to see something new that she had missed before.

_That Miyu Greer chick was suspicious of only me, since she came directly to me. She obviously had no leads towards the others, which means that I've been marked as a target during one of my solo acts on Smith's gangs' territories. The problem is how she connected me to T.N.T. Is my gang the only one, which opposes Smith and they don't know much about? But I can be any random rebel… Could it be…?_

_That's right. They must've heard my voice back during the whole ordeal with the Kisame. After that linking the voice to a face had been an easy task, I can imagine, considering that Miyu and I go to the same classes. And I must've been caught on some kind of recording, which made them suspicious. However, why did they move now? Perhaps it was because Garderobe was defeated and they were able to extract some info from Marguerite. But that would be impossible, wouldn't it? After all, she couldn't have been miraculously cured in just one night. _

_That doesn't matter right now, though. Question is why was it me they contacted first? How did they know I was part of T.N.T.?_

Natsuki bit the inside of her cheek to stifle down the animalistic growl rising in her throat. She was far too tired and emotionally strained to think straight at the moment. Her painfully throbbing temples were promising a headache.

"I still… I still can't believe that she's gone, you know." Nao's cracked voice cut through Natsuki's frustrated circulating thoughts.

"Yeah, I know." The second-year quietly admitted, mostly to herself.

"When they told me she was gone, they also said that she won't even get a normal funeral." Nao continued in the same unchangingly mournful tone. "It was a police case, they said. First there would be an investigation and then she would be cremated, they said. She would be closed in some unknown and nameless urn, they said. 'Pay your respects after the culprit is caught,' they said! You know how that feels?!"

"Yeah, I know." Natsuki mutely repeated her earlier answer. This reply made Nao jump to her feet with such speed and agility that Natsuki was truly surprised when the dying rays of the sun were suddenly blocked by her friend's small figure. She stared directly at those angry and scornful burning eyes, directing all their hate towards her.

"How can you know, Kuga?" Nao screamed at her. "How can you know what it feels to have your own mother taken away from you just like that? After so many hardships and when the doctors said that there might be some hope for her to wake up in the future? And then all hope was gone because of something so stupid!"

Natsuki could just sit still and let Nao release all her anguish, even if she was the one on the receiving end. She deserved most of it, after all. It was also her fault.

"Why was she hurt when she wasn't even part of all this? Why was my life marked when I wanted to do nothing with the gangs? Why did she have to die when she was innocent?!" Nao balled her fists and shook with fury. She probably wasn't even aware that she had begun crying half-way through her pain filled shouts.

"Because," Natsuki began firmly, regret veiling her features, "it's always the innocents who die first."

"Don't screw with me, Kuga!"

Natsuki barely got up in time in order to avoid getting pummelled by the raging girl, who had launched some kind of mixed and not quite effective attack. Having moved out of the way of the onrush, the gang leader grabbed Nao's hand before her friend would have the misfortune to smash her knees on the wooden bench and possibly topple forward with the promise of more sever injuries. When she felt the fabric between her fingers, Natsuki jerked her arm back and pulled Nao toward her. What she didn't expect was that Nao had learned to adapt to such situations and was already ready to deliver a knee to her abdomen.

The hit landed on its marked spot and forced Natsuki to stumble clumsily backwards, even if the attack didn't have enough force in it. She didn't let go, though, and even tightened her grip, causing Nao to wince.

"Will this help you?" The Ice Princess coldly spat, her breath knocked out. "Will hurting me bring you any satisfaction? Because if it will, very well. You can hit me until you find out that it won't bring your mother back!"

"What will, then?" Nao looked up at Natsuki with her reddened eyes, her cheeks an angry pink hue. "What is going to fill this emptiness?"

"Nothing ever will." Natsuki answered coolly, still unyieldingly clutching Nao's most likely already limp arm. "It will forever be void, no matter what you do. What will bring you closure is obtaining justice by punishing the ones responsible. Only after they get what they deserve will she be avenged. It's as simple as that.

"Until today you've been fighting with this half-assed resolve, but things've changed, haven't they? Do you think you can give it your all now?"

"Do you even have to ask, mutt?" Nao bared her teeth in a twisted bitter smile promising vengeance. It would have scared Natsuki, had she been oblivious as to what was going inside the younger girl's head. But she recognized those emotions oh so very well and knew which buttons to push; knew which card to play next. "I've nothing to hold me back anymore. I won't stop until every last one of those people has paid dearly for what they've done."

_Our players are finally all set, then. It's time to see what the other teams have in store for us._ Natsuki's lips twitched in a smile, which never appeared. _I'm sorry, Nao, but I'll be using you for a little bit longer. Bear with these sinful intentions of mine for now, please. It won't be long before we both have what we want. _

"Good." The gang leader released her friend and crossed her arms in front her chest. "Now stop crying and come with me. We've work to do."

"I'm not crying." The first-year protested at once, even though she did wipe her face with her sleeve. Her way of speech returned to its usual drawling sardonic tone. "You stink so much of lies and schemes that my nose got runny and even my eyes watered."

"Whatever. Let's go."

_You've no idea how right you are, Nao._

_**Indeed. But even when she knows that you're lying to her, she still follows you. It's like watching a bunny jumping at a chainsaw.**_

* * *

"Well, I'm pleased to be working with you." Shizuru outstretched her hand and shook Reito's. It seemed that they were both glad for arriving at a peaceful agreement to cooperate with each other without reservations.

"I'll be in your care from now on, then." Reito bowed his head and Shizuru returned the gesture. "Though, I've been put in quite the predicament."

"I think it's too late to be saying that, Reito-han." The student council president blinked in mock-puzzlement. She was aware that new problems had risen as an after effect of their collaboration. Her companion chuckled and glided towards the door opening it for her.

"Since the superiors already know that I've talked to you and let you walk away, they'll start asking questions. What do I tell them, I wonder…?" He asked no one in particular, seemingly not expecting an answer from Shizuru.

"You're a smart person, Reito-han. I'm sure you'll figure something out." She cheerfully announced before her disposition changed to a serious one. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak to somebody."

"Of course." Reito nodded before they made to part ways, both of them standing in the corridor. "I also have to tend to some matters. Give my regards to that someone."

"Thank you. I will." Shizuru hurriedly headed for the exit, her mind firmly set on finding a way to contact her beloved right away.

_And I think I might have just been given the reason to do so without looking suspicious at all. _


	25. Chapter 25

**_Hi, readers. Another "quick" update from me. Since I don't know how my schedule will be for the rest of the month, I decided to post whenever I could. So here we have chapter 25. I've revised it so many times, but I'm sure that there are still typos, 'gramos', and some other inconsistencies. That's why I won't bite if you point them out: 1.) it means you'd actually been _reading,_ and 2.) I would like to fix them, because it takes the joy of reading (no matter what it is) if the text is riddled with tons of mistakes.  
_**

**_By the way, writing Shizuru PoV is damn hard. If I didn't like the character, I wouldn't have bothered at all. Anyways, after this chappie comes my personal favorite and if you aren't, I sure am looking forward to posting it. XD  
_**

**_One more thing - I was working some time back (like a million years ago, in the very beginning of this universe) on a cover for this thing, just for personal use. Naturally, the project is still incomplete and my skills with the tablet have considerably decreased (that is to say - I sucked big time and I'm sure that if I touch the pen again, it'll explode in my face; and I'll make my computer crash just from pure fugly). So, I'd like to ask for oppinion: should I try and make a cover, or will it be utterly useless?  
_**

**_Thank you for the reviews, faves and alerts!_**

**Disclaimer: I don't own... why do I even bother?_  
_**

* * *

"Excuse me, Kuga-san!"

Natsuki stopped her determined stride when she heard her name being called out and turned around. What she saw were Nao lazily trailing closely behind her, an absent-minded look on her face and a boy from Fuuka Middle School, who was running up to them in order to catch up.

When he came up to her, he stiffly bowed in greeting and regarded Natsuki with his serious dark-red eyes. The second-year tried to remember the name of the boy; she was sure she had seen him before – he was quite distinctive with his good looks and unusually very dark-coloured green hair which he wore in a thin tight tail with longer bangs at the front.

"Hey, Okuzaki." Nao idly waved to the boy and Natsuki immediately made a connection between the face and the name. Okuzaki Akira – Mai's little brother's roommate, same year-group as Nao, Takumi and Mikoto. He returned the gesture with a nod and turned back to Natsuki.

"President Fujino has asked me to deliver you a message," Akira stated with the stiffness of a soldier.

"Yes?" Natsuki urged after he went silent, as if waiting for permission to resume. What was with this guy?

"She said she would be waiting for you at your clubroom to talk to you and Tokiha Mai-san about your absence from the tournament today," he informed her with the same formality.

"Understood," Natsuki mocked him in his manners. "From here on I'll proceed with retrieving Tokiha Mai and together we'll report straight to president Fujino."

"That wouldn't be necessary." Okuzaki apparently paid no heed to her choice of words. "President Fujino told me that she would wait for you at your own club room and I made sure Tokiha-san was there."

"That's good to hear – that's exactly where we're headed," Nao cut in and made a dismissive wave with her hand. "Run off, soldier. And ask Takumi to pull that stick out of your cute tight ass."

Akira threw a dirty glance at his schoolmate, however made no verbal retort and instead chose to hurriedly walk away.

"He looks like a fuming schoolgirl when he does that," Nao pointed out and Natsuki agreed with a lazy nod. His gestures were indeed somewhat feminine.

"Okuzaki Akira is of no concern to me. Let's go."

* * *

When Shizuru arrived at the room she most certainly didn't expect to find Mai in such a state – completely alone, the usually cheerful girl was clutching her hair, her eyes downcast. She sat at the desk which Natsuki usually occupied, not moving when the door screeched open. Even after Shizuru greeted her, no reply followed.

The student council president excused herself and sat next to her underclassman, patiently waiting to be granted attention. At long last Mai deeply sighed and locked her reddened eyes with Shizuru's serene ones.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Shizuru-san?" Mai asked, her voice small.

"I know that you're most likely very tired, Mai-han, but I'll ask you to stay here for a little while longer. I have something important to tell both you and Natsuki."

"As you probably have guessed already, I wasn't in that much of a hurry, anyway." The Bridge club's president rested her hands on the desk's worn surface and turned her unseeing eyes away. "Natsuki isn't here, though. And I don't know if…"

"She'll be here shortly," Shizuru assured and hesitated before she tentatively voiced her worry. "Mai-han, if you don't mind me asking, what has gotten you so upset? I can only imagine what you've been put through lately and if there's anything I can do to help, please, tell me."

"You're far too kind, Shizuru-san." Mai sadly smiled. "There is something you could do, actually."

"I'm listening."

"Please. Could you keep an eye on Natsuki? I think that if things escalate fast, we might lose her."

Before Shizuru could inquire about the unusual request, the subject of the conversation came marching in, followed not too far behind by the dark presence known also as Yuuki Nao.

"Hey, there," Natsuki casually greeted, but she frowned once her gaze landed on Mai's gloomy form. "What's with you, Mai?"

"Nothing," was the quick reply. "I'm fine. Everything's going to be fine."

"Yes, it will," the gang leader agreed, albeit a bit unconvinced by her friend's response. Then she turned towards Shizuru and her emeralds smiled. "'Sup, Shizuru."

"That's what I'm entitled to ask, Natsuki," the student council president said without a trace of humour in her voice, even though she was immensely pleased to see that Natsuki was unhurt. "I heard about all of your… adventures… from Reito-han, but I would like to hear your side of the story."

"From Kanzaki?" Natsuki inquired as she leaned against the big old desk, her back turned to Mai. The latter looked no less confused than the newcomer. Shizuru noted that Nao had chosen not to get close to them and was instead sulking next to the door, her hands folded and eyes studying something at the back of the room. But the first-year posed no interest to Shizuru at this moment, and if Natsuki chose to keep her in the room during an important conversation, so be it.

"Yes. In fact, I have a lot to tell you regarding Reito-han." She paused to sneak a quick glance at Mai. "And his connection to the First District."

"This… is getting interesting." Natsuki slightly leaned forward. "Let's hear it."

"But first shouldn't we tell Mai-han and Yuuki-han about the First District?" Shizuru gestured towards the other two occupants of the room. "I'm confident to claim that the two of them know nothing of the organization, yes?"

"I guess that it's come to the point where I must tell at least them," the gang leader admitted with a trace of displeasure. Shizuru held in a chuckle at Natsuki's attempt to hide her childish pout.

_My, Natsuki! Lying is not so bad once in a while, but you've turned it into a habit. Too bad you can't lie to me._

"Yeah, maybe you should," Nao fumed from her secluded spot in the shadows. "What more is there that you have decided not to tell the mortals, Kuga?"

Natsuki's scold deepened and it looked like she was going to say something back, but quickly decided against it. Instead, for Shizuru's immense surprise, she apologized.

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't want to overload you with info that could put you in danger. It was kinda only my problem until recently. But it looks like that there's no helping it now."

"Your problems are all over the place, Natsuki." This time the one who made an unexpected snide remark was Mai. "Now that we're _all_ in imminent danger, I think that it would be nice of you to share with us what you know _and_ your intentions."

Natsuki was visibly taken aback, however she regained her usual slightly disapproving look. Her choice not to start arguing with Mai made Shizuru wonder about what exactly had happened between them that had put her Natsuki on the defence.

"The First District," she began, "is the organization that secretly runs this school. Shizuru and I have been investigating it ever since…"

"Ever since we met, but we deepened our search after we started dating," Shizuru cheerfully pointed out, interrupting Natsuki only because she wanted to see her reaction when their relationship was mentioned. As expected, Natsuki slightly flinched and her cheeks reddened. At that moment Mai's lips twitched upwards and Nao snorted quietly.

"Um, yeah. Anyway, the most important thing is that the First District is the only group large and powerful enough to oppose Smith. It seems that they were able to worm their way into Fuuka Academy and take over both the administration and most of the staff's positions in the past years."

"If Smith knows, why hasn't he closed down the school?" Mai logically inquired, her bad mood fading slightly in favour of curiosity.

"As of yet, I don't know," Natsuki admitted with a trace of shame.

"I might prove to be able to explain that," Shizuru cut in, trying to hide her satisfaction of having acquired such dire information. "However, I'll save it for later, if you don't mind."

"Actually," Nao drawled out, "I kinda want to hear all of it in one go. We don't have time for your games all day, Mr and Mrs Smith."

If Natsuki hadn't glowered at Nao, Shizuru probably would have, but instead she chose not to manifest her dislike towards the first-year in such a manner. Once again, though, Natsuki didn't say anything in reply to the obvious display of disrespect shown towards her and her lover. At that moment Shizuru felt a pang of disappointment and hurt, however did her best to hide it.

"I found about this group when I started looking more into my mother's death. No, to be correct – her murder," Natsuki explained and by the looks which Nao and Mai sent their friend's way, Shizuru came to a conclusion that this was the first time they heard about that case.

"What do you mean by 'murder'?" Mai choked out.

"Just that. I won't go in details, though. There are more important things to…"

"You hypocrite," Nao murmured, but it seemed that only Shizuru heard her clearly.

"What was that?" Natsuki asked.

"Nothing, carry on. If you'd please."

Shizuru heard how Natsuki's teeth grinded.

"Alright then. The info we gathered was that the First District recruits students on its side just before graduation. This is how they get their best agents, seeing that the education our school provides is top-class, even on a world level. And they take only the best."

"So that explains the disappearances you were concerned about last year," Mai pointed out and Natsuki nodded.

"But lately all we've been able to dig up are old records and useless names, which cannot be linked to anybody we know," Natsuki finished and glanced at Shizuru, silently insisting for her to share her new discoveries.

"The First District is an international organization ran by a group of people called the Elders," she helpfully began. "They are nothing more than a formality, though, because the ones who actually control the operations are the Elders' executives. Those executives for our region are called Kazahana Mashiro and Homura Nagi. Each of them has a right-hand-man, who in Kazahana Mashiro-han's case is our headmistress Himeno Fumi. It's probably needless to mention that headmistress Himeno's position is just for show, as she is by far the one who holds the true authority in the First District."

"And what about Nagi's lackey?" Natsuki insisted, unconsciously leaning closer in her eagerness to learn more.

"The situation there is a bit more complicated." Shizuru hesitated.

"In what way, Shizuru-san?" Mai scrunched her brows.

"Actually Nagi-han's 'helper' is not exactly his subordinate in the full meaning of the word. He is none other than the man who will lead the organization in a few years." Shizuru let the small pause she made prepare the others for the upcoming revelation. She had a love for being dramatic at times. "Actually, he is the one who told me all of this."

"That guy deliberately spilled all of this info to you?" Nao asked with distrust. "Who and why would risk losing so much power?"

"He doesn't like the fact that he is being controlled. I was asked not to reveal much about his reasons; however, I'm almost certain he won't betray us. He is trustworthy as much as I am," Shizuru confidently stated, but she wasn't able to convince Nao.

"Why would we trust you, then?" She narrowed her eyes at the President.

"I trust her," Natsuki immediately stated with a firm voice. "Regardless of who he is, I trust your judgment, Shizuru."

Shizuru sent her beloved a grateful smile, her uneasiness from before completely pushed in the back of her mind and heart.

"Out with it already!" Nao hissed in exasperation. Shizuru would have kept it to herself only to irritate the freshman more, but she could feel Natsuki's intent gaze.

"Kanzaki Reito."

"Kanzaki? Your Vice?" The words hesitantly snuck out of Natsuki's mouth. Shizuru nodded, while secretly admiring the brightness of her love's surprised emerald eyes. She really needed to stop distracting herself with such things while in Natsuki's company, she mused.

"You mean Mikoto's brother?" It seemed that Nao wanted to further make sure that it was indeed the person she was thinking about.

"Yes. I was also shocked, but when I heard his reasoning and what had driven him to betray his own, I believed him," Shizuru assured them with all of her seriousness. She truly believed Reito and knowing Natsuki's dislike for the boy, she needed to be as convincing as possible. Turning and looking directly at the gang leader, she spoke with resolution. "Natsuki, he will be of great help."

For a few moments the two of them stood like that – unblinking and unyielding. Natsuki was closer to her compared to when Shizuru had started talking. The student council president was almost sure that Natsuki hadn't realised this, else she would've withdrawn quickly. From the corner of her eye she briefly registered Nao's irate glare, but she paid it little attention. Natsuki's eyes were searching her own, calculating and evaluating chances that Shizuru had been tricked.

Natsuki exhaled heavily and pulled back, straightening and folding her arms, not tearing her gaze away from Shizuru's.

"What more did he tell you?" She asked, not showing whether she was fully persuaded. "If he's from the First District, he must know more about Smith."

Shizuru nodded.

"He does. However, first there is more pressing news for you. They are good ones, I assure you."

"I wouldn't count on that…" The voice of scepticism threw in a comment.

"The First District doesn't have any details on the people who wiped out Garderobe at the docks. They can only speculate, but they've got nothing certain. The main theory is that the two groups which fought that day were both eliminated during the process. Almost nothing points at T.N.T.

"And about T.N.T. itself – they do know that some of the students are members, but they have no names or faces. In short, they are just being cautious towards the matter, not taking any serious measures. And this is where the good part ends, I'm afraid."

"Big surprise there."

Shizuru sent Nao a look bordering with annoyance before she continued her report.

"The Golden Era we had problems with a few weeks back is actually a branch of a bigger organization called Searrs. Unsurprisingly, Smith is one of the ones at the top in Searrs. The Searrs Foundation runs business with a lot of foreign companies in various business fields. Its hidden and also main agenda is creating and distributing chemical and biological weapons. They are not to be taken lightly."

"Did Kanzaki tell you something about Miyu Greer?" Natsuki quickly asked, as if having barely been able to wait for Shizuru to finish her last sentence.

"Yes. I take it that you've met her." After a positive grunt she went on. "She transferred here together with her sister – Alyssa Greer, also known in the First Districts files as Alyssa Searrs."

"That little blonde girl who sings in the choir?" Natsuki lifted her brows in display of astonishment. "But anyone can tell they're not related! Greer's hair is silver, for crying out loud!"

"Greer was adopted."

"What are we going to do about the Searrs duo?" Nao crossed her arms.

"Nothing for now." Natsuki stood up and started pacing. "We'll just be weary of them and we should make sure not to be left alone with them. As long as we're in the First District's territory I think we're safe."

"That won't be the first time you're wrong." Nao rolled her eyes. "What if they _do _move?"

"I'll make sure they won't have the time," Natsuki reassured her friends. Then she turned towards Mai, who Shizuru had nearly forgotten about due to the girl's silence in the past few minutes. When she also looked at her underclassman she was met with an unexpected scene – Mai was intensely glaring at Natsuki. If Shizuru didn't know better, she would have described the emotion behind those lilac eyes as hatred.

"What's the matter?" Natsuki asked, her lips barely moving. She was being extremely cautious, Shizuru realised.

"How many people will have to be dragged into this war of yours, Natsuki?" Mai shifted in her seat; she looked like an angered feline ready for a jump, her nails digging in the wooden desk.

"This war – as you call it – is _not_ mine. We just happen to participate in it." The gang leader stood up without turning her eyes away from Mai's. "One way or another, we would've been dragged into it."

"And why should I be sure that you haven't planned this from the beginning?" The Bridge club's president bristled up.

Shizuru found herself at a loss. Never had she expected something like this to happen.

_Did I really believe that it would all go smooth?_ She thought. _No. No, and Natsuki must've realized it at some point as well. Question is why didn't she prevent it?_

"Come on, you can't be serious!" Natsuki indignantly protested. "How can I be in the middle of this? And besides, where did all of this come from?"

_Are you playing innocent or are you really that oblivious, my Natsuki?_

Mai started shaking and for a moment Shizuru thought that she would explode in rage. But then another unexpected turn took place.

"Cool your head, Tokiha." Nao circled behind Mai and put a hand on her back. "You can't seriously believe what you just said. It sounds ridiculous. Kuga can't be this smart."

Natsuki's eye twitched, but she stayed silent, her arms defensively crossed in front of her chest. Mai said nothing.

"We need to push through this mess as quickly as possible."

As she said that, Nao locked gazes with T.N.T.'s leader and she received an almost undistinguishable nod. Mai relaxed, but the air of hostility around her didn't quite dissipate. Shizuru held in a sigh.

"I'm sorry to be in such a rush, but there is one more thing you should know." The President drew the attention at her before she turned her worried face towards Mai. "Especially you, Mai-han."

_Good, I have her listening intently now._

"It's related to your brother's roommate – Okuzaki Akira."

"Akira-kun?" Mai asked incredulously; obviously she hadn't expected this.

"Who actually isn't a 'kun'." Shizuru licked her lips thoughtfully before continuing. "Okuzaki Akira is a girl."

"You mean that Takumi has been harassed by a cross-dresser in his sleep?" Mai screeched and stood up. The chair she had been sitting on clanked on the floor.

"Actually, Okuzaki-han being a girl is the least of our worries," Shizuru pointed out with a bit of hesitation.

"And what can make it worse, Fujino?" Nao derisively asked.

"She is a kunoichi working under the First District. Everyone that is considered a threat, she takes care of."

"A cross-dressing ninja?!" If Mai had been angry before, she was furious now. "And what am I expected to do now? Hire another ninja to kill her off?"

"She isn't doing this of her own volition, Mai-han." Shizuru resisted the urge to rub her temples. "Like many of the First District's agents and more valuable cadres, she is kept in bay by fear. Or so Reito-han has told me. He saved me the details, though, because we had a lot to talk about."

"I don't believe that he would give all of this valuable information just for free, Shizuru," Natsuki spoke after the short lapse of silence that had ensued. It seemed that she had already guessed that this wasn't a form of Reito's kindness, but a genuine deal. "What did you offer him in return?"

"Protection and guarantee that we will destroy the First District he hates so much," Shizuru calmly responded, not flinching even under Natsuki's reproachful look. She could see that her lover was angry because she had been given no say in the matter.

"And he believed you just like that?" The gang leader asked sceptically. "What else. Tell me what else you told him."

"I told him about T.N.T.'s agenda, its leading officers, so to speak, and answered his questions," Shizuru explained, but when she saw that Natsuki was about to most likely leash out at her in fury, she decided to elaborate. "I was extremely careful about what I told him. Of course, I kept your methods of operation and the names of all the lower-ranking gang members a secret. I can only guess he did the same. After all, he didn't reveal all that much if you think about it."

Natsuki didn't say a word, seemingly deep in thought. Shizuru had carefully chosen what to share with Reito, but she found it no surprise that her beloved was displeased with the fact that she herself hadn't supervised the whole exchange. At long last Natsuki nodded and looked away.

"I can't say I feel comfortable about having Kanzaki on our side. However, what's done is done," she spoke while being fixating on a map of the city on the wall. "He will indeed prove useful. I won't be quick to trust him with much from the beginning, though. I take it you all agree with me."

Mai and Nao said nothing, though the latter huffed and went to the door.

"If that's all for today," the first-year rested her hand on the doorknob, "I'll be going to my dorm."

"I have no more new information." The President straightened up and snuck a glance at Natsuki, who shrugged.

"Sure, go have some rest. I'll come and get you when it's time to act," the leader of T.N.T. dismissed her and turned towards her best friend. "Mai, you go with Nao. I'll be back to our room soon."

Mai silently looked at Natsuki for a bit and then she walked out the open door, through which Nao had already disappeared.

After the sound of footsteps died Shizuru stood up and slid behind Natsuki, resting her chin on the shorter girl's shoulder and wrapping her arms around her.

"You know," she whispered, "if you tell them more about yourself, they will find it easier to put more of their trust in you."

"Can't I make them trust me without revealing my past?" Natsuki quietly asked, her voice unusually vulnerable. Shizuru softly exhaled, her breath tickling her girlfriend's ear. Natsuki shuddered.

"If you take, you must also give, Natsuki; sharing means forming bonds. Bonds mean trust," the elder explained patiently. "It's as simple as that. This is how the two of us exist as one, right? I can't believe a girl as smart as Natsuki can't figure out this much."

The President smiled when she saw her love's ears turn slightly pink.

"It's… not the same," Natsuki stammered and turned around, now her nose touching Shizuru's. "You're special. You've always been. I won't trust anyone else as much as I do you, treat them the same way."

"By all means, don't!" Shizuru light-heartedly chuckled and brushed her lips against a reddened cheek. "I'm just saying that you shouldn't treat your friends as your enemies. They do care, you know. Natsuki should show them she does too."

"I-" the confused and blushing Natsuki began, "I'll try and do that. Thank you."

Shizuru could wait no longer and before she hungrily claimed her Natsuki's lips she breathed out a few words which unknowingly to her made their bond even stronger.

"Don't mention it. I'll never betray you."

* * *

As Nao tapped her chin and stared out the window during an especially annoying class, she reminisced about the recent events. While the annoying teacher was babbling about an extract in some famous western book, pictures and scenes kept flashing before the first-year's tired eyes.

During the two days that had passed after the tournament, things for the Bridge club had taken a turn for the worse. The faculty had informed them that since they had made no appearance at the tournament (which had led to their utter defeat) they would be forced to disband the next school semester. No wasting on the school's funds, those red-tapists had said. That, naturally, had made the morale of the gang drop to a dangerously low level and Mai and Natsuki had been forced to give speeches of encouragement at least three times already. Only the 'correspondence' with Blackwood had given some results in lifting the students' spirit, however this clearly hadn't been enough. Then Natsuki had decided to act.

She had given Akane instructions about the whole plan of impersonating Marguerite and making sure that the ex-Graderobe members saw her.

It seemed that the plan had some success. Students were talking about how there had been people that had seen the supposedly missing Tomoe since the morning.

The bell rang and without wasting time Nao headed for the Bridge club's room. She ignored the looks some of her classmates sent her way and the whispers they exchanged. Mikoto, who was taking the same class with her, was in a matter of seconds by her side. The feline-like girl bounced around her grim friend.

"You must be hearing what they say," Mikoto stated. "Why don't you tell them to shut up? They're not telling good things about you and your mom."

"Quiet, pipsqueak." With this Nao ended any efforts on Mikoto's side to begin a conversation. Today she had calmed down a bit and didn't want to think about her grave loss now.

They reached the clubroom in no time and hurried inside as soon as they heard erratic shouting. What they saw when they stormed through the open door was Irina waving her arms and heatedly trying to articulate a sentence, while Natsuki was leaning on the back legs of her chair, her feet on the desk and scratching her ear with her little finger.

"Calm down, damn it!" The gang leader shouted Irina down. "Put an order to the screeching. It's called human speech. Use it!"

"How can a single person make such a ruckus?" Nao slid in front of breathless and flushed middle-schooler. "Mikoto and I panicked for nothing. What's this all about?"

Mikoto closed the door and dutifully went to Natsuki's side quietly asking if there was something to eat left by Mai.

"Tomoe…" Irina staggered for words. "I saw her earlier. I called Arika-chan and Nina-chan and told them to be careful, then came straight here."

Nao resisted shooting a look at Natsuki and instead put her acting skills in action. Judging by the sound of wood hitting the floor and a surprised exclamation so had the other two.

"That's impossible!" Nao tensed and made sure to weave disbelief and fear in her voice.

"I swear, I saw her!" Irina slammed her hands on the desk and Nao turned around to look at Kuga. The gang leader was intently starting at her underclassman and after a short pause closed her eyes in thought.

"Go fetch the other two immediately. Take someone with you. Now that school's over it wouldn't be suspicious if you don't show on the campus' grounds for the next few hours," Natsuki instructed and added with a more serious tone: "And be careful. We don't know how or why she's here."

After hearing the orders Irina nodded and sprinted out of the room. When they could no longer hear her, Natsuki and Nao simultaneously smiled in the same lip-closed manner. The gang leader fished her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open.

"I'll call Akane to congratulate her on a job well done," she informed the other two as she pushed a few buttons and put the device to her ear.

Mikoto excitedly approached Nao and grinned.

"This means that everyone will cheer up, right?" She asked and Nao checked out her nails in order not to look her classmate in the eye.

"Yeah," she lied to herself. "Finally things are starting to look up."

"Kuga here. Congrats, Akane," Natsuki spoke. "It seems those three swallowed the bait."

A brief silence passed indicating that Akane was talking. However Nao noticed a slight change in Natsuki's expression. The satisfied gleam in her eyes dulled and her brows twitched as she strained a bit.

"Sure," she said, her good mood visibly a bit darkened. "I'll come and see what I can do about that."

Nao made a quizzical expression, but she was waved off, which made her a bit suspicious.

"Fine, I'm coming." Natsuki hung up and dropped her phone in her blazer's pocket as she stood up.

"Where to?" Nao immediately asked, as she watched Kuga's back.

"Akane said she needed me to go fetch her, since she thinks she saw Greer following her," the gang leader briefly explained. "We'll try to lose Greer and then I'll escort her to her dorm, so it'll take some time before I'm back. Meanwhile you two stay here and wait for the idiot trio."

"Okay," Mikoto quickly agreed and plopped herself on the floor. Nao mutely watched Natsuki disappear from their sight.

"Say, Mikoto," Nao turned towards her companion after a while. "Don't you think Kuga was acting kind of weird?"

"No," came the reply without a second's hesitation. "Natsuki is always doing things I don't understand until before she explains them to me. Isn't it the same with you?"

"It's kind of annoying, isn't it?"

Nao jumped at the sound of Mai's voice and discovered that the club's president had just come in.

"We talked a bit last night after she came back to our dorm and I think I understand her reasons better now." When Mai saw that Nao scoffed, she smiled good-naturedly and tried to reassure her underclassman. "She promised she would talk to you too. And also apologized for not telling us earlier."

"Like I give a damn."

* * *

"You didn't get the place right." Natsuki shoved her hands in her pockets and almost shivered at the cool ocean breeze. She fixed the person in front of her with her hostile emeralds as her heart raced with excitement and a small amount of fear.

_Even if I expected this, I didn't think it would be so soon…_

_**You messed up big time, didn't you? **_

"It couldn't be helped. The original location is off-limits due to investigation. I don't really want to draw unwanted attention," her adversary said while admiring the last golden sunrays dancing on the water's surface. "It's beautiful, isn't it? Despite all the concrete and machines, the ocean still looks majestic. Even more so before the night falls."

"So now you're being poetic?" The gang leader tilted her head with a mocking expression. "Though I'm glad you like your final setting. You still find the beauty in your final moments, despite being surrounded by wooden boxes, metal trunks and the stench of petrol."

"Oh, no. No, Kuga-san," Natsuki's enemy spoke insanely calm, while stretching an arm forward. "You're not even worth capturing. The one to die tonight will be you."

Natsuki grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes. This was so hard to believe.

"Actually, it won't take that long," the tauntingly low voice was nearly carried away by the wind. "When I finish with you, your body will still be graced with the sunlight for one last time."


	26. Chapter 26

_**No time to explain: get in the car and enjoy the chapter! Fasten your seatbelts, 'cuz it's not beta'd!**  
_

_**Special thanks to DezoPenguin, who pointed out some things in the last chapter. I don't know if I made the corrections the right way and sorry if I didn't. Crosswood simply didn't have the time to explain properly, since she was busy with my other mistakes. I edited somewhat the last chapter and did what I could with this one.  
**_

_**Also, a big bowl of imaginary raindow-gangnamstyled-cookies to those who faved and also left a comment!  
**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome. _Though I wish I did: then the show would rival Naruto by episode count. But not One Piece. Never One Piece._  
**

* * *

_You've gotta be kidding me!_

Natsuki could only stand and stare in shock when Tomoe moved to attack her. It took a ridiculously small amount of time before the smirking Marguerite was right in front of the gang leader, her fist meeting painfully with her paralyzed opponent's abdomen. Besides getting the whole air knocked out of her, Natsuki felt as if she would be turned inside-out. She staggered back a good distance and fell on her knees, trembling involuntarily from the impact.

Tomoe cruelly started laughing. At least now she sounded more like herself. A pair of blurred emeralds lifted towards the maniacally laughing girl. Natsuki's vision swam as she struggled to get up and balled her fists, moving her body in a defensive position.

_What's with this force?_ She gulped, a well-known metallic taste filling her mouth. _This was no ordinary punch! _

"I know what you're thinking," Tomoe sneered and lifted her hand in front of her face. She folded and unfolded her fingers a few time, her lips stretched in a taunt as she continued talking. "See, after my old limbs became useless, I had them… replaced."

She started walking slowly towards Natsuki and with her every step forward, the Ice Princess made one back. When her heel touched something solid behind her, Natsuki stopped moving, however Tomoe didn't. Like a predator she jumped forward and had Natsuki not rolled out of the way, she would've been in the place of that hole in the metal trunk, where her enemy's fist had struck.

When she had called Akane earlier, the last thing she had expected to hear was Tomoe's voice.

"_And don't think I won't figure out if there's somebody with you. If I even suspect that you have back-up, I'll kill Higurashi immediately. I also have her useless Karauchi close by – just a phone call away. A word from me and he's a goner. So, Kuga-san, play nice, please," _she had calmly explained._ "I've no idea why that girl was trying to impersonate me, but I think it might be in some way related to you. We'll talk more when we meet eye-to-eye, yes? Bye-bye!"_

As she once again lifted herself from the concrete ground, she discovered with a trace of panic that Tomoe had already pulled her fist out of the hole she had made. Now it had come to buying time and thinking of ways to defeat Marguerite. Even though Natsuki prided herself as a skilful fighter, she couldn't risk getting hit again. By the time she had told her comrades to arrive it would most likely be too late. She couldn't best Tomoe.

"Replaced?" She rasped out, surprising herself that she was able to talk at all. "What do you mean?"

"I don't see a reason not to tell you," Tomoe cockily replied. "Thanks to Mr Smith and his research team, my limbs have been completely replaced with mechanical ones. As you can see, they look just like real ones _and_ are perfectly apt for fighting."

"Yeah, apt. Unlike you." Natsuki increased the distance between them and cursed the fact that despite that there were a lot of trunks and boxes around her she was in a position from which she could use them as cover. "If it weren't for the speed and agility those things gave you, I would've already knocked you unconscious. After each of your attacks you leave yourself open."

Tomoe didn't seem to appreciate Natsuki's critic and she launched at her with grit teeth. Her attacks were so fast that Natsuki couldn't evade them completely and was forced to block them a couple of times with all she had. Each punch and kick Marguerite threw her way was like an invisible cannon-ball, the direction of which was predictable only because of years of experience.

_But…_

"Predicting doesn't mean evading!" Tomoe voiced out Natsuki's thoughts as she kept up her onslaught. Natsuki almost cried out when she blocked another merciless axe kick coming from above her head. Her hands, which were forming a cross protecting her head, trembled and she jumped back, panting from the exertion. She briefly noticed that her knees were also shaking, however she was given no time to rest as Tomoe launched again.

"I want to beat the hell out of you!" She screeched as she had one of her hits blocked again. "I don't want just to kill you! I'll break every single bone in your body before that!"

Natsuki wasn't listening to her; she was thinking. Were Tomoe's limbs functional in water? How could she test that theory without getting drowned herself? After all, Smith was a dirty bastard and he was obviously using Tomoe as an experiment – those things were surely not perfectly developed.

And then she saw her chance.

"Do you know how much it hurt getting these new limbs connected to my nervous system?" Marguerite didn't fall silent even for a second. "I was used as a suitable experiment sample. But now I don't mind, if that meant crushing you!"

"So you told Smith about me and he sent you to kill me?" Natsuki swiftly evaded a knee to her abdomen and sleekly made a maneuverer which would surely lead them closely to the water. She needed to end this quickly, as she was nearing her limits. Her arms and legs already felt like deadweight.

"Ha!" Tomoe spat out mockingly. "Don't think so highly of yourself! Why would Mr Smith issue an explicit order for your capture? I told him nothing about you and your sidekick. After all, I want to savour my vengeance alone."

_So she really doesn't know about T.N.T._

Natsuki tried to counterattack, but Tomoe was too fast.

_**Seems like she's out just for revenge. Remind you of somebody?**_

"Speaking of sidekicks," the gang leader blinked the cold sweat out of her eyes, "Miya Clochette kicked the bucket."

Tomoe only snorted and gave a rest to her attacks, providing a chance for Natsuki to catch her breath. It seemed like Marguerite's stamina wasn't infinite.

"I don't care. If I had to trade her life for these nifty things and this quickened regeneration ability, I would do it again," she spoke, her teal hair covering one of her wild stormy grey eyes. "And after I kill you, Shizuru-san will be all mine."

Natsuki felt something inside her growl possessively and she exhaled slowly in order to cool down her head. If she did something stupid, it was the end of her. She snuck a look behind her and made sure that they were close enough to the dark waters. The sun had set already and the flickering lampposts did nothing to help her vision. Not only was she being overpowered, she also couldn't see her opponent's movements clearly. She wondered if the 'upgraded' Tomoe possessed the ability to see better in the dark.

"I doubt it. I even doubt that you'll live long enough after you've fulfilled your purpose." Natsuki lowered her guard in order to lure in Tomoe.

"My purpose, as you've put it, isn't limited just to your eradication. It is just a sweet bonus." Marguerite narrowed her only visible eye at the gang leader. "I need to locate two powerful organizations and destroy them. I trust you've already met with Miyu-san. I'll be aiding her in her quest to flatten that annoying T.N.T. bunch."

Natsuki promised herself that if she had the proper chance, she would make Tomoe pay dearly for insulting her, her friends, and her gang. But if she spoke now, she would most certainly give herself out and any chance of her survival would evaporate.

"Do you know something, Kuga-san?" Tomoe crouched and prepared to engage in another assault. "The moment Miyu-san shared suspicions that you were also part of T.N.T.'s members, I came to hate you more!"

The instant Tomoe jumped towards her, Natsuki already knew the pattern in which her opponent would attack, so she moved out of the way. She smirked the moment Tomoe's fist met with air and she aimed a kick at her attacker's left knee. Since Tomoe's balance depended solely on it, she tripped and stumbled toward the water. Natsuki decided to give her a helpful kick in the back, speeding up the entire process of Tomoe's falling in the ocean.

Not even a sound was uttered by either combatant before a splash resounded in the air. Silence followed, during which Natsuki could only hear her own erratic breathing. She clutched at the shallow bullet wound from a few days ago and with relief discovered that it hadn't reopened. After the ripples on the water's surface subsided to the natural sway of the waves, Natsuki took a few steps back and leaned against a cold trunk. Releasing a breath, she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. Were Tomoe's limbs indeed heavy enough to drag her to the bottom? She wasn't about to sit and wait to confirm that.

_When I get back, I'll issue an emergency. I need to gather up all members and I'll put my final plan into motion. It's early, but I've no choice. _The gang leader made to get up with a pain filled grunt._ But first and most important, I must get Shizuru somewhere far, far away from Fuuka. Anywhere will do. She'll be against it, though. Need to think of a way to convince her, then…_

A most pressing issue at the moment was for her to find Akane and Kazuya and knowing Marguerite's way of thinking, her comrades were kept somewhere near. Tomoe's overconfidence had probably led to her neglecting the safekeeping of her hostages. She dared to speculate that both of them were together and that there was nobody guarding them. After talking with her it was certain that Tomoe was working alone, so the part with the phone call was definitely a bluff. The ex-Valkyrie leader was good at playing with people's heads, but the Ice Princess was on a whole different level.

Just as Natsuki straightened up she heard a snap and her attention turned towards the place from where she had pushed Tomoe. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a pale hand powerfully clutching the concrete edge, making cracks in it. Before she could think about running, she found herself unable to breathe.

"Very smart, Kuga-san," Tomoe complemented her as water dripped from her hair down her face. Her icy wet hand was gripping Natsuki's throat; her victim's legs were dangling a few inches from the ground, back tightly pressed against the metal. "Just from a brief exchange of blows you noticed that my left leg hasn't undergone the thorough surgery my other limbs have. Maybe it was because I didn't use it that much. I'll have to work on that. Thanks for the tip."

Natsuki's vision had blurred to a point she could barely distinguish Tomoe's face, which in fact wasn't that far away from her own. The burning pain of suffocation in her chest had pushed the throbbing of every bruised part of her body in the back of her mind. She couldn't concentrate on anything else. Natsuki thought that if she didn't die of asphyxiation, she would be crushed to death. Her ears started ringing and she could barely hear Tomoe's taunts anymore.

"Then," she could vaguely make out, "you thought that… mechanical, they would be… heavy… alloys."

_**Speak with less words, you moron. No oxygen equals no thought process.**_

"Too bad you were wrong!" Tomoe screamed in her face, but Natsuki couldn't even tell if she was conscious anymore. She tried to reach towards her enemy's eyes, but her slow and weak action was prevented when Marguerite jerked her forward and then slammed her in the trunk again.

"Who the hell do you think I am?!" This screech, however, reached Natsuki's ears and she rasped an answer. "Huh? What did you say?"

"I… said…" The gang leader directed her clouded gaze towards where she thought was Tomoe's face. "Some… dead bitch…"

She couldn't see or hear what happened next, but what she could feel was the sudden cold that engulfed her whole body. When she tried to breathe, she started choking.

_Well damn._

_**Well damn**._

* * *

Mai kept fidgeting and sending worried glances towards the clubroom's door every now and then. All of T.N.T. was gathered and they were expecting no one else to come, except for Kazuya, Akane, Natsuki and Nao. The club president was feeling especially nervous after Chie had received a laconic and alarming message from Natsuki earlier.

'_Make sure someone comes to pick me up from the docks if I'm not back in an hour. Play file number 47 if we're not back.'_ It read. Mai was sure that this had something to do with the missing Akane and Kazuya. Nao had ventured out as soon as she had laid eyes on the message, without giving anybody the opportunity to stop her.

After she pushed a glass of water on the floor and it broke, Mai felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Get a grip of yourself, Mai-chan," Aoi quietly whispered her advice. "People are watching – if you act insecure, it's over."

Mai silently nodded and straightened. She had to keep her head clear – Natsuki had left her with exact instructions. And after all, she reasoned, she wasn't the second-in-command just for show. She was perfectly able to handle this situation even without her best friend's assistance.

The Bridge club's standing president ran quickly the recent events through her head and sighed, leaning backwards in her chair. The three ex-Garderobe members were present, so that meant that they weren't the unknown enemy's main objective. Akane and Kazuya were gone and they had nearly no information about their whereabouts.

Mikoto quietly crept behind her and embraced her, letting out a sigh of impatience.

"Mai, when are we going after Natsuki?" She asked her guardian-figure.

"The two of us aren't going anywhere, Mikoto," Mai explained and hurried to continue before her friend was able to argue. "We'll be staying here if something happens in the campus during the absence of the people who are going to go and fetch Natsuki."

"Can't I go with them?" Mikoto whined.

"You should stay here." A simple plan was already formulating itself in Mai's head. She stood up and addressed everybody with a loud and resolute voice. "We shouldn't split in more than two equally powerful groups. Mikoto, Chie and I will stay in the clubroom together with Arika-chan and company.

"Aoi-chan and a small group of people will go to the docks and fetch Natsuki and Nao-chan. The ones left will move around campus only in groups of two. Think about your strong and weak points and form the two groups by your own assessment. Afterwards I'll assess them out and if I agree with the allocations, you're set to go."

Mai scanned the faces of her comrades and friends and discovered with relief that they didn't look as nervous and uncertain as she was feeling. She nodded and everybody sprang to action, soon providing her with two well-balanced groups, of which she approved immediately.

* * *

Tomoe stood over the dock's edge sneering, her hands folded in front of her chest. Her laugh gradually escalated from a quiet giggle to the guffaw of a madwoman.

"Go to Hell, Kuga Natsuki!" She shouted into the night and the echo carried on her sinister imprecation. Those words kept repeating themselves over and over again in Nao's head even after the sound had faded into nothingness. Holding her breath the freshman stared unblinkingly at the shadow, which kept getting smaller as it retreated in the darkness. Finally Tomoe was out of sight and hopefully of hearing range, most likely after her next prey.

_Me._ Nao gulped. Though a small feeling of relief made itself comfortable between the fear and bafflement – Tomoe overconfidently had left the scene without checking if she had successfully eliminated her opponent. Now pulling Kuga out of the ocean and getting both of them to safety had climbed to first position in her priority list. Problem was whether she would be able to find Natsuki in the dark under the water and swim back up together with her.

_Will she even be…? _Nao shook her head and pulled her top off._ Stop! Don't think about that. _

After she emerged from her hiding spot (a big wooden crate), she pulled her shoes off and jumped head-first in the bottomless looking ocean. The water was colder than she had anticipated and as she pushed downwards it kept getting chillier. She couldn't see anything, but still hoped that her blind descent wouldn't be in vain. Soon, though, she ran out of breath and was forced to retreat to the surface.

Nao gasped for air and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Wasn't a body supposed to float back up after a while? She searched the area around her, spinning frantically and trying to spot something even slightly out of the normal in the darkness. Slowly a sense of fear gripped her whole being and her heart sunk within her. Where the hell was Kuga? Hadn't Tomoe thrown her somewhere around here? What was going to happen if Nao failed to find and save Natsuki?

In that instant the shivering with fear and cold girl realized that if she was unsuccessful, she would never forgive herself. Despite all their scuffles and disagreements, Nao knew that at this moment Natsuki was the only person she could rely on. Even if she never would admit it out loud.

"Kuga!" She cried out, knowing full well that she would get no response. Her eyes continued madly dashing in every direction.

* * *

"Have you been informed of the latest events?" Reito sat opposite of Shizuru in the new office of the student council. It was way past school hours, but the President had staid longer to finalize some mundane documents – something quite unusual for her. She lifted her gaze from the huge amount of papers and put her pencil down.

"I'm listening," Shizuru urged with her tone for her vice to continue. His serious expression made her involuntarily shiver.

"Tomoe Marguerite has been spotted on campus by our agents. It's confirmed that she has established contact with Miyu Greer," he informed her with a look of worry. "Contact Natsuki-san immediately and warn her. I can only hope it isn't too late."

Shizuru's hand was holding her phone in no time and she quickly dialled Natsuki. When she heard the annoying announcement that the subscriber's number was out of reach, she opted to call the next person that was sure to be in the draught.

"Aoi-chan, take your group and head to the docks this instant!" Mai's authoritative voice rang throughout the small space and everybody stopped talking. When all of the gang members froze in their spots a scowl appeared on their third-in-command's face. "Didn't you hear me? Get going!"

Aoi's group scrambled into action and soon they were ready to go, every single one of them having taken some kind of small and easily transportable weapon.

"What's going on, Mai-chan?" Aoi asked as she tucked a sheathed dagger in her sleeve.

"Tomoe's back and it seems she's in cahoots with Miyu Greer and the organization she's part of," Mai answered, while she herself was searching through the storage room where they kept all their weapons. "If my suspicions are correct, Natsuki and the others are in a big pinch. Leave campus immediately and go make sure they're okay."

"Shouldn't we consult Blackwood first?" One of the members asked hesitantly, but he was shot a fiery look from the club's president.

"We don't have the time! Go! Now!"

* * *

"What do you suggest now, Reito-han?" Shizuru was barely able to keep the shaking out of her voice. From what she had learned from Mai, Natsuki had gone straight to Tomoe without knowing that she was up against something more than a ghost seeking revenge. But her Natsuki should've known better… Why had she gone alone?

"The First District will most likely take action, but your group also needs to move, Shizuru-san." Reito rubbed his chin in thought. "If the Golden Era strikes now against T.N.T., it's guaranteed that we won't stay low. We'll attack both groups that are on our turf, meaning that we'll aim to eliminate both opposing fractions, no exceptions. You have to get away from here as soon as possible. I'll make my escape, as well. After I've played my role in undermining the First District, of course."

Shizuru nodded, allowing a small smile to grace her previously pursed lips.

"You're as level-headed as always," she complemented her friend. "I'm unnerved by the thought of us being genuine enemies, Reito-han."

"Let's wait for each other at the hidden exit, which T.N.T. usually uses," he suggested and stood up. "Gather as much people as possible. If either of us doesn't make it there in the next hour, he or she should be left behind."

"My, truly a leader, aren't you?" Shizuru accepted his proposition easily, agreeing silently that it was indeed the best they could do at the moment. "I'll go gather Mai-han and the others and we'll be waiting for you there. Good luck with getting rid of your shadow."

"Nagi won't be a problem." Reito gave her a reassuring smile.

Shizuru anxiously waited for a while longer after her vice left before she grabbed her laptop and headed straight towards the Bridge club's room.

* * *

Mai was running towards the middle school's dorms with all the speed she could muster. This time she had a terrible feeling that things wouldn't go as planned. She couldn't risk and wait for the school campus to turn into a battleground – she needed to get Takumi to safety at once. Even though she knew she was doing something selfish by leaving her friends alone for a while, her brother came before everything.

_I'm just going to make sure he's okay and then I'll take him with me_, she thought as she stormed into the dorm building of the middleschoolers, not heeding the guard's protests.

Mai flung open the door to Takumi's room without bothering with the courtesy to knock, but she abruptly stopped when she saw that her brother wasn't alone. He was standing stiffly in the middle of the small living space, a kunai pointed at his throat. The one who was threatening his life was none other than Okuzaki Akira.

"Let him go!" Mai nearly growled.

"Listen to me, Tokiha-san," Akira calmly requested, not moving the blade away from the boy's throat.

"Sister…" Takumi quietly called out to Mai and she narrowed her eyes at the ninja.

"Let my brother go," she demanded once again, this time her voice low and threatening. Akira sighed with exasperation.

"Look, I'm trying to help you." The kunai was slowly drawn away from Takumi. "I know what you're part of, Tokiha-san, and my superiors are going to be informed, as well. I heard the President and the Obsidian Lord talking earlier. However, I don't want either you, or Takumi to be hurt."

Mai couldn't believe her ears.

"Are you going to let us escape?" She disbelievingly asked. Akira nodded and pushed Takumi forward, the boy stumbling in his sister's protective arms.

"Be careful. I can't afford to keep silent about this, because it will look too suspicious. I have other people to protect," the kunoichi spoke with regret in her voice and motioned towards the exit. "Now go."

Without a second's hesitation Mai dragged her brother with her, not even giving him a chance to say his farewells with his roommate. He pulled at her grasp.

"Wait!" Takumi shouted as he struggled free and turned towards Akira. "What's this all about?"

"Ask your sister while you make your escape," she answered. "Do you have your pills with you?"

"Yes." Takumi hesitantly stepped towards her. "Promise me to be careful."

"I'm sorry I lied to you." Akira stared fixedly at her feet. She inhaled shakily when without any warning Takumi wrapped his arms around her.

"I knew all along. I'm not angry," he spoke quietly and quickly pulled back, his cheeks reddened. "See you."

"See you," rasped out the stricken and also blushing female ninja.

Mai quickly pushed Takumi out the door and then stopped dead in her tracks.

"Will Reito-san be safe?" She asked without turning around.

"I'll do everything in my power to help him make it safely to your people," Akira promised. "I also despise the First District and want it destroyed."

* * *

"Are you looking for her?"

Nao squinted in the direction from which the steely voice had come. She had just climbed on the concrete shore and was crouching – cold and tired – on the ground. Her wet hair was getting in her eyes and in the first moment she couldn't make out the big silhouette standing on top of one of the metal crates.

The pale moon had just swum up on the starless sky and when the cloud that obstructed it moved Nao gasped. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

_Seriously, how bad can this get? _

Miyu Greer stared impassively back at her and adjusted on her shoulder the unmoving Natsuki. The freshman shivered; the fact that she could feel no sign of an aura about Miyu frightened her more than the thought of the raging Tomoe.

"What are you going to do with her?" Nao stood up from the ground without tearing her gaze away from Miyu.

"Take her to Lady Alyssa," was the emotionless reply. "She still possesses some value in my Lady's eyes, so I can't have her die yet."

"Did you need to wait after that psycho bitch almost killed her?" Nao half-shouted, surprising herself with the realization that she was genuinely angry. She silently wondered if Kuga would be angered by the whole situation if she were in her shoes and Nao was the one captured. Would she be upset that her… something like a friend was in such a predicament? Would she be worried more about the other person, rather than about herself?

"It matters not either way – she's still alive." Miyu jumped down from the crate and landed without any difficulty. Nao took a defensive step back. "I'll let you walk away if you don't get in my way."

_Getting pummelled by Marguerite isn't on top of my 'to do' list either. _

"And if I do?" The first-year deftly pulled out her knuckledusters from her pockets.

"You will be eliminated."

Miyu's voice came from behind her and before she could even turned around she felt a strong hit on her right arm. Stumbling forward, she turned to look at her attacker, who was being held in a head-lock by none other than Natsuki.

_Looks like Kuga really didn't kick the bucket, then._ Nao suppressed the urge to smirk. Suddenly she felt relieved and reassured that now she wasn't alone. There was a chance for them to get away alive.

It seemed that Natsuki had prevented Miyu from delivering a deadly blow to Nao, instead injuring only slightly the younger girl's arm. The struggle – if it could even be called one – between the two second-years was short; Miyu effortlessly grabbed Natsuki by the collar of her blazer and threw her towards the third participant in the scuffle. Nao could do nothing but stare surprised at the incoming body. Both girls collided painfully and fell to the ground.

Nao grunted and pushed Kuga off her. The latter sent her a dirty look for the rough treatment, which Nao answered with narrowing of her eyes. Their attention quickly shifted to the pale-haired girl who was now quietly staring down at them. She didn't seem bothered at all that she was fighting against two people. Natsuki took a few steps back, crouching and holding her left side.

"You're stronger than Marguerite." Her tone suggested that her statement should be taken as a question.

"Indeed. After all, even if she has some advantages, Marguerite-san is only human," Miyu spoke calmly. "And she is still not accustomed to handling her new weapons."

Nao was looking incomprehensively between the other two, still not having bothered to get up. Did this mean…?

"What does a non-human want with me?" Natsuki straightened up as much as her wounds allowed her. Nao saw her slightly flinching when doing that and the ghostly feeling of security she had experienced only moments ago completely dissipated.

"Lady Alyssa wants to see you," Miyu simply said and fell silent.

"Hey, don't say that as if you just explained the world." Natsuki darkly chuckled and cringed. "I haven't even met this Alyssa in person."

"You will have the opportunity tonight. Before that…" Miyu paused. She had turned towards Nao, who had scrambled up to her feet, ready to run for her life. The non-human stayed silent for a moment before she regarded Natsuki. "It seems that Lady Alyssa doesn't mind if we bring along another person."

Natsuki visibly relaxed and glanced at her ally. Nao sent her an uncertain look back, asking silently for some kind of explanation. She received none, though, as she was suddenly grabbed by the elbow and dragged towards the parking lot together with Natsuki.

Both of them were pushed inside the back of a black van and Miyu jumped in after them. Nao crawled to the front and when her palms met with a cool surface, she stood up. When the van moved she staggered, but luckily didn't fall. She couldn't see all that well until a small lamp above her head was turned on. She noticed that Miyu sat on the only seat close to her and that Natsuki was on the floor, her back leaning on the metal wall. She didn't look her usual healthy self.

"Why would Alyssa want to speak with me?" Natsuki asked, her tired eyes fixed on Miyu.

"She wants to talk to you about your mother."

* * *

"_Aoi's team has-?!"_

"_I'm staying behind!"_

"_Don't be stupid, Chie. Move!"_

"_Leave them, leave them! Run, Mai-san!"_

"_I can't see them following us."_

"_Midori?"_

"_I want it all to end…"_

Mai lay flat on her back. She couldn't even bring herself to count how many of them had been captured. Or worse. At least she was sure Takumi was with her. She could barely hear her friends talking. Mai let her teary eyes close and unconsciousness soon embraced her.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I, uh, have no excuse, except for a writer's block and only 24 hours per day. I'm still in it, but I decided to at least upload one chapter. I can't seem to be able to write a certain scene and I'm kinda stuck in the middle of chapter 30.** **And about this chapter... it's kinda slow even for me. **

**I'd like to thank DezoPenguin, xx Catty xx, PostoronnimV, ali, Platina GF and the guest reviewers, as well as all those who are following this story. There's something big coming up in my real life, but I WILL finish this story before April. Here, I've said it and sealed my FFnet fate XD.**

**As always any and all criticism is welcomed and highly appreciated. I can't promise I'll answer in time if you have questions, since lately I've had less time to browse through this wonderful domain of budding authors. But! I will try my best and honour all of the signed reviews if I can do so.**

**Hope you enjoy!  
**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome. Damn._  
**

* * *

"Is she okay?" Takumi's voice barely reached her.

"Yes, she collapsed due to fatigue and stress." Was that doctor Sagisawa? "Physically she should be fine."

"I see…"

_Takumi, don't worry. I'll be right there..._

* * *

Mai struggled to open her eyes and soon blurry figures swam in her vision. She was grateful that it wasn't all that bright and she was able to see clearly given a few seconds. The first person she was able to distinguish was her bother, crouching next to the couch she was lying down on. He squeezed her hand and she weakly smiled.

"Funny. It's usually the other way around." Mai's dry throat made the words come out rasped. Takumi's brows creased.

"Sister!" He was clearly upset, but he couldn't hide his concern and the relief in his posture. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Mai reassured him and made to get up. Her little brother immediately helped her by putting a big pillow behind her back. Mai was finally able to get a good look around. "Where are we?"

Shizuru, Reito, Mikoto and Irina silently approached her and sat on the cushioned floor, around the table that was in front of the couch. All of them looked tired and tense.

"We're at Sagisawa-sensei's," Takumi said as he gestured at the spacious living room with big French windows from which they could see the quiet outskirts of Fuuka city.

"Soon after we left the school grounds, we were assisted in our escape by Sugiura-sensei and Sakomizu-sensei. It seems they are somewhat acquainted with the situation and wish to help us." Shizuru had that reassuring smile that could calm down a raging storm. Though it was apparent that the President was as tired and worried as the rest of them, even more so, her voice didn't betray it. "Sakomizu-sensei is part of the First District, so that clears out the mystery behind his involvement. But his motives are still questionable."

"Yes. What bothers me is how outsiders like Sugiura Midori and Sagisawa Youko were informed and prepared for this." Reito held a pensive expression and Shizuru nodded slightly in reply to his worries.

"How mean! Calling us outsiders…"

Everybody turned towards the entrance door as Midori marched inside with her usual aplomb, the doctor following silently behind her, while carrying a bag of groceries. Sakomizu was not with them.

"We've been 'insiders' ever since Natsuki-chan insisted I be the Bridge club's advisor." Midori put her hands on her hips as she stood in the middle of the room. "It wasn't that hard to figure all this out, since I'm just all that _awesome_! That's probably why I was explicitly requested in the first place."

Mai and the rest stayed silent for a moment before the president of said club decided to point out what had just become obvious.

"Natsuki told you becoming the advisor would be risky and fun, right?"

Midori's grin faltered.

"Sensei, you're quite the adventurer. I'm sure Natsuki appealed to that side of yours and by what I can see, she wasn't wrong in her assessment. After all, you had this escape plan prepared." Shizuru's comment, albeit aiming to somewhat compliment their teacher, did the exact opposite.

"I might add that since Sakomizu has shown suspicious attentiveness towards Kuga-san, I'd assume he has kept you informed all of this time," Reito helpfully added and Midori immediately jumped and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"You didn't need to explain so thoroughly!" Her pouting face made all of them smile.

"You have to admit that we've got a bunch of exceptional students, though." Youko suddenly reappeared and patted Midori on the shoulder as she brushed pass her. She put a tray with sandwiches on the small table and Mai's stomach growled. The second-year reddened and somewhat reluctantly reached for the food; she didn't feel like eating, but her body demanded it quite loudly.

"I trust it's safe to think that Sakomizu has returned to his duties so that he wouldn't be suspected any further." Reito snuck a glance at the doctor and she affirmed with a small nod.

"He's also on the look-out for Nina Wang and Yumemiya Arika, since we weren't able to find them in all the chaos. However, how you got away remains a secret, Kanzaki-kun," Youko nonchalantly threw between bites. Midori vigorously nodded, her mouth full.

"I have my ways, sensei." The enigmatic boy's reply made Irina look at him.

"Who are you in all of this, senpai?"

"After tonight, I'm nobody." Reito didn't bother to elaborate further, which irritated Mai, but she didn't display it. She reasoned that it was an issue which wasn't due to be resolved at the present moment. When the time came though, she would demand answers from the young man himself.

"Let's just say that I've become your ally." His calm tone made no place for arguing.

Suddenly, Mai realised that something, or rather someone, was missing. The absence was quite obvious, really.

"Where's Nao? Didn't she set off to find Natsuki? What happened to the two of them?"

* * *

"What about my mother?" Natsuki fixed Miyu with a narrowed stare. She wasn't up for silly games.

"_Our_ mother, actually, Natsuki-san."

The gang leader turned her head towards the gentle voice and from the darkness into the dim light swam Alyssa Searrs's angelic face, framed by her golden locks.

"What?" Tired and barely conscious Natsuki demandingly growled. She got a small smile in return from the little blonde girl.

"You heard me right – our mother. We both carry Kuga Saeko's genetic pattern, even if our… fathers… are different," Alyssa calmly explained as she made herself comfortable in Miyu's lap. Seeing that she wasn't provoking much of a reaction, she continued. "A few years ago our mother was working on a project for the First District. It was a program researching ways to clone organic tissue and possibly even create life."

"So basically the First District's Elders were playing God." Nao moved nearer to her fellow captive. Natsuki was grateful for the action, since she felt that she was about to fall sideways if Nao's body didn't offer her the needed support. She could barely concentrate enough to make out and assimilate what was being said.

"You could say that. But she found out that the First District didn't intend to use her research for the sake of medical progress like they had initially told her," Alyssa steadily went on. "So she came to Searrs and was welcomed with open arms."

"Those arms didn't offer protection though," Natsuki hatefully grit between her teeth. The image of her mother's grotesquely twisted body on the pavement in front of the tall apartment building they had lived in was fresh in her memory. It made her sick to her stomach.

She wasn't able to see Alyssa anymore – her vision was more blurred than a few moments before. When she felt two arms on her shoulders, she guessed that Nao had caught her before she could fall during a sharp turn. Nevertheless, she was keen on finding out more about everything around Searrs.

"Unfortunately," Alyssa replied with what Natsuki barely sensed to be regret and sadness.

"However… Searrs was able to decipher mother's research… right?" The Ice Princess now had a general idea regarding what had really happened. "Since you're here… little sister."

"You really are smarter than you appear, Natsuki-san." The small girl's half-praise went unnoticed by Natsuki, who was now solely focused on staying awake. She could no longer see or sense what happened around her and the only straw she was clinging on to was one raging thought.

_Mother's genes were used as an experiment sample. Why? _

Her dull emerald eyes closed, her whole being unable to battle anymore with the aftermath of the earlier events.

Nao felt Kuga going limp in her arms and glanced at the gang leader's face only to confirm that she had fallen unconscious. The first-year scoffed; Kuga was pretty much dead weight like this and was of absolutely no help.

"You know, the only reason you are alive, Yuuki-san, is because you are an important asset to my sister," Alyssa stated, as if reading Nao's mind.

_Okay, maybe Kuga _is_ of some help after all._

"What will you do to us?" Nao inquired cautiously. "It seems as if you are plotting something that requires our help, rather than our elimination."

"Something like that is of no concern to you, Yuuki-san." Miyu's steely voice reminded of her presence.

"What are you, anyway?" Nao quickly changed the topic, feeling that further questions on the matter would lead to nothing.

"Miyu is an artificial intelligence, fully self-aware," Alyssa proudly answered. "This platform serves as her mobile version – her main core is located somewhere else. She has been programmed to follow strictly my orders."

"Why do I sense that this might have been a mistake on the engineering team's part?" The snide remark was met with an innocent smile.

"I have no idea what you might be implying. I would never use Miyu for personal interests."

"Sure."

"If I weren't controlling her, you'd both be dead!" Alyssa clenched her small fists, glaring defiantly at Nao.

"See? Exactly my point." The captive smirked. _She's still a brat when it comes down to it._

Then the breaks screeched, Nao flew forward and crashed into something hard. Next thing she knew was that the van was lying on its side, gunshots resounding outside and Miyu and Alyssa had disappeared through the busted back door.

* * *

Natsuki woke up to the sound of a door slamming and a series of curses coming from an all too familiar source. When she was finally able to focus and lift her head from the uncomfortable ground she was sprawled on, she saw Nao banging her fists on a metal door, shouting.

"Open up, shitheads!"

Nao's back was facing the gang leader; Natsuki could barely distinguish the outline of her friend, the room lit by a sole light bulb hanging from the ceiling. From the looks of it they were once again in something like a warehouse.

_Why on Earth are there so many warehouses in Fuuka?!_ The gang leader wondered as she pushed herself up from the ground. She let out a displeased grunt at the spinning world, which redirected Nao's attention from the tightly shut door to her.

"Hey, Kuga." The first-year approached and kneeled beside her. "You have any idea why we were abducted by the Golden Era and afterwards re-abducted by some other bunch?"

"Huh?"

It had been a while since so much had happened in just one night. Or was it morning already?

"Oh, right. You were unconscious." Nao received an expectant look. "So, uh, after you went all bye-bye, Alyssa told me that she wanted something with you and then the van crashed."

"That was… terse. Something else I need to know?"

"Well, this is pretty much it. Wonder-brat and the toaster AI disappeared without a trace and before I could do anything, the both of us were being dragged to a car which transported us here. We got locked up and that's pretty much all of it."

"So those guys who took us here told you nothing?" Natsuki asked disbelievingly. "They didn't even _gloat_?"

"Nope. Said nothing."

"Huh. Well, that's… unusual."

Nao sat cross-legged and rubbed her previously injured arm. "Anyways, you okay? You took quite the beating from Marguerite and then that android chick didn't spare you."

"I don't think I've been through worse, but I'll be fine in a few hours. What about your arm?" The Ice Princess got a dismissive wave as a response. "That's good to know. Though what bothers me the most is why we're still alive."

"I don't think this is something you should worry yourself over, Kuga." Nao lifted a brow. "Either way, from what I've gathered we're safe for now. It doesn't seem that these bastards want to off us. Not yet, at least."

"Yeah," Natsuki quietly agreed, frowning in thought. Whose pawns were they? If they were not Smith's, the Golden Era's, or the First District's…

"Don't tell me…" The gang leader drew a sharp breath in realisation. Nao leaned forward.

"Figured it all out already?"

"I can't be sure, but I hope I'm not right. I haven't had contact with this group for a while… Last time it didn't end well."

"Spill the beans, Kuga." Nao irately narrowed her eyes. Natsuki briefly noted that her friend had looked better – her angry red hair was messy, her clothes stained with dirt and dried blood, while her fair skin seemed somewhat ashy. A sudden pang of guilt struck her and she cringed. Nao had probably thought Natsuki's discomfort was due to pain, hence her next question.

"You sure you're gonna be alright? I swear, I haven't seen anybody regenerate as fast as you do, but there is only so much that you can take before you break."

"Yes, yes. I know, don't worry," Natsuki quickly covered her slip-up. "But if I'm right in my speculations, we'll be unharmed."

Nao nodded and leaned backwards, the dull light reflecting itself in her tired eyes. She seemed pensive for a moment, but then she sighed. Natsuki lifted a brow, as she couldn't recall hearing Nao sigh. Ever.

"What is it?"

"Do you really need to ask, Kuga?"

"Uh… sorry." An uncomfortable cough. "Thank you for coming."

"Oh, it's decided." Nao crossed her arms as she regarded her friend with a trace of amusement.

"What is?"

"After we get out of this mess, you're getting checked by a shrink. Not only did you do something stupid, but now you've consecutively apologized _and_ expressed gratitude in less than five seconds."

"Am I _that_ rude?" Natsuki asked with faked bemusement.

"Oh, no, you're a real sweetheart. That's why you have so many friends!" The exchange ended with that, both girls sharing a smirk.

"Seriously, who are your current admirers, Kuga?"

"There's a strong possibility they're my father's bunch."

* * *

"So I wasn't dreaming when Chie refused to come with us." Mai creased her brows as Shizuru nodded. This wasn't good news. The only ones who were awake at the moment were herself, the President and her Vice.

"After she heard that Senou-han's team had been attacked, she preferred to stay behind and make sure everything was alright." Shizuru ended her explanation with a sigh.

"Even though it was understandable…" Mai began, but was cut off by Reito.

"It was selfish." He folded his arms, while he gazed out of the window in the night. "We are one skilful informer short, this meaning that we can't get in touch with anybody on campus."

"You mean that it was selfish that she stayed behind to find her best friend?" Mai angrily pushed herself off the comfortable couch and swaying walked towards the boy. "And what kind of means did you use to get away, Reito-san?"

"By your reaction I judge you already know." The Vice president turned around and held Mai's burning gaze. "Don't worry about Okuzaki-san, she will be fine. In fact, I'm sure that a huge burden has been lifted off her shoulders now that both Takumi-kun and I aren't on the academy's grounds."

"Why didn't you tell me you were the Obsidian prince? Why did I have to learn from Shizuru-san?"

Reito didn't answer her, instead averted his now guilty gaze to the floor.

Mai was mad at him. Having shamelessly claimed her heart he had possessed her thoughts as of late. And now it turned out that every single exchange or treasured gestures they had shared could easily be only lies. She didn't know if she was in her right, but she _was_ angry. Why couldn't she fall for guys who weren't douchebags or groomed to be leaders of evil organizations?

"This is the exact reason I want the First District destroyed," Reito quietly admitted, so as to only Mai could hear him. "The responsibility of continuing the work they had started prevented me from being free and doing what _I_ wanted, to be with the people _I_ wanted to be with. Mai-san, I can't ask for forgiveness, only beg for your understanding."

_That also sounded pretty selfish to me._

His quiet plea made Mai swallow her next comment, but just when she was about to give her thought over answer, hers and Shizuru's phones rang. Puzzled they picked up at the same time.

"_Could you put me on loudspeaker, please,"_ came a sickeningly sweet voice from the other side. Mai stiffened, immediately recognizing the owner. Judging by Shizuru's reaction, so did she. They nodded at each other and simultaneously pressed the respective buttons for the loudspeaker.

"You're on," Mai spoke gravely.

"_Tokiha-san, Shizuru-san, and the other present ladies and gentlemen, assuming there are any: good evening. And what an evening – pity it's almost dawn… I was quite saddened by the fact that by the time I got back to Fuuka's campus, you had already escaped."_ Tomoe sighed with mock regret. _"I was hoping to deliver the exhilarating news in person!"_

"I'm afraid I can't follow a madwoman's ramblings, Marguerite-han." Shizuru leaned forward in the couch, tensing up a bit.

"_Oh, forgive me, Shizuru-san. I'm still so excited after my last encounter with __**the **__Kuga Natsuki,"_ Marguerite giggled, making Mai even more furious.

"You bitch," she spoke lowly, a certain promise in her voice.

"Where is she?" Shizuru's tone betrayed no trace of emotions and if Mai didn't know better, she would've guessed that the other girl didn't care one bit.

Midori entered the room just as a maniacal laugh was heard from the other end of the line. The teacher froze in the doorway and looked questioningly at Reito, who lifted his hand in a silent request for her to say nothing.

"_Worry not, she's in a better place. That is, if you consider Fuuka bay as such." _Tomoe sighed wistfully. _"Ah, the fulfilling sensation of her struggling while I choked her to death is something I never want to forget."_

_Don't worry, you won't. _Mai thought as she observed how Shizuru's eyes darkened to a shade of impending doom.

"_Good riddance, I say. And Shizuru-san, I dedicate this victory to you! Wait for me."_

Shizuru stayed silent as her jaw tightened and her knuckles turned white.

"_By the way, if Yuuki Nao is listening, I would like to give her a fair warning: you're next! Your fate won't be gentle, either."_

A self-satisfied hum later and the communication was cut off.

_**BEEP.**_

"She's lying," Mai whispered before she screamed. "She's lying!"

Reito put a hand on her shoulder and only when she turned towards him and realised his face was blurry, did she notice she was crying. Quickly wiping her tears away with her sleeve, she spoke again.

"There's no way Natsuki would let herself be… ki- killed… by Tomoe, of all people! I know it!"

"I hope you are right, Mai-san," Reito solemnly stated, as he turned towards his gaze towards Shizuru. "We've got a more urgent matter at hand now."

Mai followed the boy's troubled eyes and gulped. Shizuru's expression was nothing she had ever seen or expected by the usually always smiling and calm girl. If looks could kill and Tomoe were in this room with them, then she would be ripped to pieces so small that her remains would easily sieve through a cotton sheet. Mai fearfully concluded in the back of her mind that if there were demons, their eyes would be of the same red colour as Shizuru's at the moment.

The student council president's silence was even more disturbing. Even though she was known about her composure, Mai expected Shizuru to at least cry out in anger or frustration. Instead she just got up and with a decisive stride made for the door.

"Shizuru-chan! Don't get stupid! This is what she wants!" Midori sprang to action as soon as she realised what was going on. She gripped the girl's arm and forced her to a stop. Shizuru whipped around and tore herself away from her teacher's grip with strength and aggression that obviously surprised both of them. The floor screeched as Reito shifted his weight in anticipation and Mai licked her already dry lips.

"I _am_ leaving to look for Natsuki and you'd better not get in my way." The calm steel in her manner of speech made everyone doubt that this was indeed the young woman they knew. She was on a completely new level of scary.

"Shizuru-san, be reasonable." Reito successfully drew her attention with his velvet and yet filled with authority and sensibility voice. "Marguerite said she was going after Yuuki-san next. She didn't know that in fact Yuuki-san went to aid Kuga-san. Maybe they are both okay and are only playing with Marguerite. That's very like them, after all."

"Reito-han, Marguerite said it herself – she k- did it herself. She _bragged _about it!" Shizuru argued back, now fierier than before. Mai couldn't decide whether that frightened her more or if she preferred the cold rage instead.

"That is correct, but you know Marguerite: she would do _anything_ to get your attention!" The Vice didn't back down an inch and instead took a step forward, now speaking more animatedly. "For all we know she might not even _know_ where Kuga-san is and is only egging you on so that you come out of hiding."

Shizuru visibly loosened her posture and Mai released a breath she didn't remember holding in. She was really glad that they had both Shizuru and Reito on their side now – the struggle would've been even more relentless if the two most influential people among the student body were to be enemies.

Mai ventured to enter the discussion. Her tears had dried and she even felt a bit ashamed that she had let emotion take control of her actions. She vaguely wondered how she fitted between Shizuru, Reito and Natsuki, who were all so different from her.

"The possibilities are there. Yes, there is a grim chance that the worse has come to pass, but we can't know that. We need more information." Mai approached Shizuru and put a reassuring hand on the taller girl's shoulder. "And information has always been our forte, right?"

_But without Chie, Aoi and Natsuki's information network..._

"That's why we'll be going to Yamada-han's." Shizuru nodded and gently pushed her friend's hand away. The fire behind her eyes hadn't died down completely, however now it spoke of determination instead of carnage. Mai didn't know to what extents Shizuru would go for Natsuki and she most certainly didn't want to find out.

"Forgive my reaction," Shizuru apologized and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She looked way older than any of them. "However, until I hear from Natsuki or Yuuki-han, I can't simply stay put. We need to find a way to get around without drawing attention."

"Yes," Reito pensively agreed, a look of concentration on his handsome face. He was already trying to figure something out. "Give me some time to think and I guarantee you that we _will_ find Kuga-san."

The radio-clock turned itself on automatically, announcing it was 06:30 and a new day had begun. Nobody said anything, all of them intently listening to the short news report. Nothing on the situation at the school; the weather forecast told of a cool and sunny day ahead. Not hearing anything about what had happened last night didn't surprise Mai. She didn't feel upset, either. She supposed she had expected this somewhat. Fuuka was a boarding school, yes, but word was bound to get out sooner or later. Vaguely wondering how the cover-up at the academy's grounds was going, she walked to the kitchen.

"I'll make breakfast?" She heard herself say and the others hummed in agreement.

Mikoto was bound to be hungry.

* * *

"Whoa. Wait, wait, wait. What?" Nao shifted on the uncomfortable floor. It would've helped if there was at least a crate in here. Sitting on the floor did no good for recuperation. "Your father's?"

"Yeah. About that… We're not on the best of terms." Natsuki sighed and attempted to get up, but still weak, slumped back down with a grunt. "He and I… disagree on several levels."

"Like that time when he tried to kill your girlfriend along with a bunch of civilians just to test you?" After the shocked look Natsuki gave her, Nao smiled bitterly. "Yes, I know about that. It was all over the news for several weeks, but at that time I didn't suspect that a mere father-daughter disagreement could go that far."

Natsuki's eyes hardened.

"Your point?" She coldly inquired. Nao shrugged.

"Dunno, but I can't help but wonder what it's gonna be this time, hm?"

Nao soon found her back slammed on the floor, all air gone from her lungs. She struggled to breathe, but the forearm on her throat prevented her to do so and she just choked. Next thing she knew she was looking at the blurring feral snarl that was plastered all over Natsuki's face. She barely found it in herself to attempt a grin, feeling only the corners of her lips twitch.

_You're suicidal, Yuuki. _Nao thought before she could breathe again. She rolled to her knees and wheezed a several coughs. When she glanced at Natsuki, she saw that the other girl had gotten up, her back turned towards her.

"Fujino," the name immediately drew the elder's attention and her head slightly turned in her direction, "thinks the world of you."

"Don't bring her into this." The low growl only encouraged Nao. She now had a plan to find out what she wanted.

"That obviously smart girl seems to think that your tears can cure cancer and that your shit smells like a sunny afternoon and roses." The first-year chuckled and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. Gosh, was she tired of getting constantly pushed around. "But that's not the case, is it? You're as human as the rest of us, even less so."

Natsuki said nothing for some time. Nao knew she was betting everything she had with Natsuki on the line with this little plan of hers, but she had to know more.

"What's all of this about?" Natsuki turned and regarded her like a stranger; distant and disinterested. "Quit bringing Shizuru in this, or I swear I'll…"

"Shoot me between the eyes and push me off a railing?"

Neither of them moved. Natsuki was seething with anger, Nao could feel the electricity in the air. The feeling of talking to the gang leader like that was like playing with a lighter in a room filled with gas.

"The girl's gotta be insane to love you that much, right?"

"Shizuru's not insane." The defence came not a heartbeat later.

"Depends. Nobody can be so sane without being a little bit mad."

"Stop. Twisting. This. Towards. Her." Natsuki stepped forward like a giant predator. "There obviously something you want. What is it?"

"Your story." Nao scrambled to her feet and dusted herself. "Defend yourself. Tell me more about all of this."

"All of what?" Natsuki tilted her head, her look burning a hole straight through Nao's head and the wall behind her. "Why my dad and I are trying to eliminate each other? Or why I'm chasing around government dogs and killing hundreds on the way? Or maybe why my mother was murdered like an animal? Whether I'm unstable enough to off you over some taunting?"

She took another step forward. Nao didn't back down.

"All of the above. In chronological order, if you please."

Natsuki chuckled and Nao joined her until they were both laughing loud enough for the guards which were surely outside to want to come in and shoot them silent. Now both of them standing in the light of the bulb, Nao could easily distinguish every bruise on the visible parts of Natsuki's skin. The one on her throat (courtesy of Tomoe) was black and purple and coupled with the girl's pale skin, damp hair and dark circles under emerald eyes made her look like a walking corpse. By all logic she should've been dead or at least in a coma.

"You grate on my nerves like nobody does, Nao."

"Thank you, your grace." Nao smirked, glad that she had finally found a way to get Natsuki to talk to her. "But better not get side-tracked. Spill it all."

"What's in it for you?"

"Honestly? I'm tired of following you into the fire without knowing what you're aiming. The 'trust me, I know my shit' line doesn't work for me anymore, either." When Natsuki opened her mouth to reply, she snapped her hand in a motion to silence her. "Not what you tell the others. What only Fujino and Tokiha know. I deserve to be part of the Inner Circle, don't you think?"

"Fine." The gang leader heavily scowled and crossed her arms.

_Well, that was fairly easy._

The door opened and both of them jumped from the sudden noise.

"Kuga Natsuki, you're coming with us." A suited man stood expectantly in the doorway, his arms behind his back. His shadow fell upon Nao and she silently groaned.

_Couldn't this wait?_

"Better not keep him waiting." Natsuki limped around her companion and out the small room, the big man following her.

The light-bulb blinked when the door slammed shut again and Nao slumped to the ground.

"Screw me and my fucking luck."

* * *

Asking questions wasn't going to help her case, Natsuki decided. The man escorting her didn't seem the talkative type and was most likely instructed not to tell her anything. She let out an inaudible sigh.

Her body ached like she had been run over a heavy truck several times and then picked off the ground and put together by a three-year-old. The adrenaline rush gone, she could feel every single bruise; or more like: she fell like one giant bruise with two nearly broken legs.

She was guided down a corridor which so long that she was able to recall all of her meetings with her father in the past seven-eight years, if you could call talking on the phone and internet an actual meeting. The only physical evidence of the man during that time had been his pawns and the apartment he had left for her to use. She didn't even care to remember his face. Did she look like him at all?

The guard nudged her outside a door and she was forced to lift a hand to her eyes in order not to get blinded by the brightness she was now facing.

_Already dawn, huh? _Her squinting eyes travelled around her surrounding environment. The platform she was standing on was overlooking the ocean, the morning sun reflecting on the rippling waves. Shuddering, she took a step backwards. There was no railing separating her from the edge and a very long way down into the rocky bay the metal construction was situated on. She glanced back at where she had come from and observed a simple door built in a rock. No warehouse, no machines, away from the big city. The man who had escorted her went back inside, vanishing behind the metal.

_Not bothering to leave a guard? _Natsuki assessed her chances of escape. _Yeah, maybe some other time. When I nearly didn't drown a couple'a hours ago and don't feel like a clay figure. _

To her right were a small metal table and a simple chair next to it. Her feet made a hollow noise as she approached the chair and sat down. She shifted in a semi-comfortable position and took a deep breath. The morning air was fresher than that of the city's and the salty sensation on her cheeks was times different than the one that came with the breeze on the docks. The serenity was disrupted when the laptop on the table flashed to life, the familiar picture of a white king chess piece appearing on the screen.

"I see you've made yourself comfortable," the man spoke calmly.

"I wouldn't turn down some tea, though. Quite the nice set-up you've got here, old man." Natsuki waved her hand around. "Do you spend a lot of your time here? You know, enjoying the magic of the sunrise hiding behind that screen?"

"You're upset, Natsuki."

"Damn right I am!" She would've jumped up to her feet if she had the strength. "I'm sure you already know what happened last night!"

"This is not why I've brought you here."

"Enlighten me."

A pause. A change of his tone.

"You're pathetic."

Natsuki couldn't believe her ears.

"You re-abducted me and my friend just to _insult _me? Even I don't go that far!"

If the man were to get within a visible range, all of his army wouldn't be enough to defend him. Natsuki clenched a fist and waited for a response.

_**Bastard's bold. No wonder you turned out like this.**_

_Can it._

"Natsuki, you aren't worthy anymore. Killing you will be pointless to me now."


	28. Chapter 28

**_Aaand this is officially the longest chapter until now. I couldn't think of a place which I'd rather leave for the next installment, so here goes. That leaves the future chapter twenty-nine relatively shorter, but life has its ups and downs. _**

**_Also, this will be the last document I'll be publishing until all of my exams are over. Because. I. Need. To. Study. More like write a fairly decent amount of bull about politics, economics and history (things I have only minor knowledge of - I study Japanese linguistics, for crying out loud!) in something resembling a bunch of courseworks. In less than a week. And then prove that it's not bull. Go, me!_**

**_But enough about my stupid problems! The story is nearing its final arc and I'm very much looking forward to completing it. Special thanks to DezoPenguin, PostoronnimV, dfsfd (cool name, bro XD), Platina GF, xx Catty xx, ali, and the other three unnamed guests, who dropped a review. I think this is the most I've recieved for a single chapter, so I guess this is a new record. :) Thank you so much!_**

**_On with the story!_**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

"What do you mean I'm not _worthy_?"

Natsuki knew that her father didn't harbour much affection towards her, but his declaration certainly came out of the blue. Her head began spinning with questions and she had to cover her eyes to calm herself down at least a bit.

"Do you want to hear a story, Natsuki?"

She looked at the screen dumbfounded. The flow of this conversation was difficult to follow and she would've left the guy alone with his nonsense if she had an option. As it happened, she had nowhere to go right now.

"Sure, since I never got to listen to daddy's bedtime stories. I'd be glad to try and start anew with you. There are only a hundred or so dead bodies between us, after all." She leaned back and watched as the sky slowly changed different shades.

_**Here goes…**_

"Your mother and I met when we were both researchers in the First District. She was just accepted as a new member on the genetics team. The team I was part of was stationed in the same facility. Saeko quickly rose to the top and was assigned a project dedicated to cloning, growing, and exploiting organic and later human tissue. I was also secretly working on the same project – orders from the superiors to keep an eye on her – but I was soon taken in by her genius. The woman was remarkable! Such talent! You can imagine that genius attracts genius and soon we were married."

Natsuki snorted disdainfully, but paid close attention nevertheless.

"Saeko had a problem, though."

_**Oh?**_

"She had paranoid schizophrenia."

_**This explains a lot, doesn't it?**_

_Fucking splendid. Just… perfect. _Natsuki scowled, hoping that her father couldn't see her reaction. She coughed uncomfortably.

"The woman always second-guessed her own decisions and was never too trusting of her colleagues. Thus, it was only a matter of time before found out about the District's true agenda. Saeko liked to check everything she had access to… and even files that were restricted. That's how she came to know that her research was to be used for military purposes. You were seven."

"And being the prick you are you didn't help her a bit, did you?" Natsuki couldn't help but growl out.

"I was with her mainly because of her research and because of you."

"Me?" she disbelievingly asked, now really confused. The man had never showed a trace of warmth or care.

"You were to be our perfect offspring. With our brilliant minds combined and with Saeko's research you were guaranteed to turn out to be superior. Mentally…"

Natsuki stared at the sky stupefied, barely registering her father's next words.

_A… an experiment? _

"… and physically. You must have noticed."

She shook her head. _Concentrate!_

"Your abilities are above average in every aspect – be it mental or physical. Smarter, faster, stronger. Better. While the mental capabilities are hereditary, your quickened regeneration ability, for example, is product of my and Saeko's years of relentless work. And didn't you find it strange that you could best seasoned fighters with just street-fighting you picked up from an alley?"

_**You always knew that, didn't you? Deep inside, you knew.**_

_Shut up. _Natsuki wet her lips, but said nothing. Instead, she listened to the distant voice.

"Though, bearing Saeko's disease in mind, it was quite the gamble to create you. But you didn't show any symptoms when you were little, so we thought you a success. I allowed Saeko to escape only because I believed that the progress of the project would be protected."

"Let's pretend I get the research and super-child part, but why make me your _enemy_?" Natsuki demanded incredulously. She wanted to ask so much more. "I was…"

"While the Searrs Foundation offered her the necessary funding and protection, it was all alright. But Saeko once again caught wind of their twisted plans and was on the run for a second time. Angering those two organizations wasn't that wise. I left the First District just to convince her she was safe and to help her trust me more. I erased all my traces. You know well how thorough that bunch can be. I could do nothing, though. Too much power against one man. I got away, fled to Europe, bringing a copy of our work with myself. After your mother's death…"

"Murder!" Natsuki hotly corrected with a growl.

"… I founded the King's Men and carried on her work. Though it was written in some kind of cipher, which eventually only Searrs were able to break. The bastards. The project was frozen on our end for some time. When we finally…"

Suddenly Natsuki got up, took the computer and threw it off the platform with newly found ferocity and strength. Her eyes were brimming with angry tears as she listened her father's voice sailing in the distance and finally splashing and sinking in the water.

"I'm not your stupid fucking project, you sick bastard!" she screamed at the ocean. The sound of the door screeching open made her sharply turn around, wiping hastily her tears away. There was no one there. She stormed towards the door and entered the dark corridor, stomping her way towards the room she had briefly shared with Nao.

The way back didn't take as long as when she was walking the corridor the first time. When she reached the room she angrily slammed the door open and made sure that Nao was inside and unharmed.

Nao regarded her with alarm.

"Kuga, what happened? The guard just came, told me some bullshit and took off to who knows where." She cautiously approached her friend.

"What did he tell you?" Natsuki was seething with anger and fury.

"Some stupid…"

"What did he tell you?" the gang leader repeated louder, her voice nearing a shout.

"Okay… I'll try to cite it word-to-word, though I can't be entirely sure." Nao cleared her throat nervously. "It was something about you two thinking alike, how he considers that destroying himself would be most… uh, fulfilling? Then he said you used the same methods and… Uh… Lemme think… That guy said you were broken and weak. And you were beaten before you could become his equal. Honestly, I couldn't get half of it, so this is the watered-down version."

Natsuki was silent for a moment, going again and again through all which was said. She got more and more angry by the second, though.

"Kuga?"

"Stay away."

"Wha-?"

"Stay away. Don't talk to me. Don't seek me out. I need to think. Alone."

Natsuki nearly broke out in a run as she left. For a first time in a long while she truly didn't know what to do.

* * *

"And where am I supposed to go, dufus?" Nao crossed her arms in agitation and stared at the doorway long after Natsuki's heavy steps couldn't be heard anymore.

_What was that all about? _She scratched her head. They were both still alive and apparently free to do as they pleased, so what _had_ gotten into Natsuki? Nao had the feeling that whatever it was, it had to be pretty messed up. Yes, she herself had made sure to rile up the Ice Princess earlier, but both of them knew better than that. Some taunting from Nao wouldn't be able to drive Natsuki to her current state.

Would going after Natsuki help?

_No_, reasoned Nao, flinching in remembrance of the cold orders she had received regarding exactly that action. Well, if she didn't go after the other girl, what should she do?

Exploring the facility was an option and if she happened to stumble upon Natsuki, she would have a good excuse.

_Not that I need to answer to her for anything. _She mumbled a few curses and ventured outside.

There was only one corridor which went both ways. She just picked one way and started walking down it, slightly limping. Her body was sore and exhausted from all the earlier beating. Swimming in cold, dark waters and getting thrashed by that AI was one thing, but the lack of decent rest afterwards only beautifully contributed to her condition.

Fuming and grumbling quietly she finally reached a dead-end. All the other doors she had tried opening were either locked or there had been nothing behind them. However, Nao felt that this one had something different about it.

Her fingers firmly grasped the knob and she forcefully pulled, opening it way easier than she had originally anticipated. She peeked inside and when nobody punched her in the face, she stepped inside. She examined her surroundings with squinting eyes, for the yellowish light from the corridor didn't reach the far corners of what looked like a not-so-small room after all.

It was seemingly empty and Nao was about to leave in disappointment until something flashed in the darkness. Startled, but curious, the first-year approached it. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that the screen was in fact part of something bigger. She most likely wouldn't have known what it was if she hadn't seen what was written on the display. A cold robotic female voice confirmed her suspicions.

"Charges set for detonation. Initiating count. Estimation until set-off: T minus four minutes and thirty seconds. T minus four minutes, twenty-nine seconds. T minus four minutes…"

"Shitshitshitshitshitshit!" Nao spun on her heels and bolted down the corridor. She didn't know she had it in her to run so fast, not in her current state, at least. In the back of her mind she thought it might be quite amusing to behold from a third-person's point of view: she was running as if she was letting her legs run in front of her and was then struggling to catch up.

Having survived against all odds until now would've been pointless. If she didn't find Kuga fast, all of this would've been for nothing. And Nao refused to die over nothing. Or die at all.

* * *

"Kuga!"

She heard her name come out in a pained rasp and she jerked around to see exactly why Nao did the one thing she had asked her not to do.

Natsuki was standing on the metal platform from earlier, trying to come in terms with everything she had learned the past twelve hours. Tomoe, Alyssa, Miyu, Searrs, her father… her mother… and all of her other problems that didn't possess one name or face. She had dully noticed that the bruises on her hands left by Tomoe's relentless beating had in fact almost completely disappeared. The numbness was still there, though.

As Nao approached her frantically panting for air, Natsuki self-consciously rubbed her neck. It didn't hurt as much as half an hour ago.

"What are you doing?" Natsuki didn't need _or_ want the company of another at the moment. When she was pissed, she beat things. Or shot them. She was better off alone. Taking a step forward, she stumbled a bit, but caught herself right before her panicked accomplice. Straightening up, she glared.

"The whole place… 's gonna… blow!" Nao gripped Natsuki's dirty blazer's front and pulled herself up.

"What?!" Natsuki stared at Nao, trying not to get bothered by their proximity. She took a step back. "How?"

"Some kind of demolition charge. I don't know _how_ or _why_. I just know that we'd better get our asses off this rock before we're blown to pieces!"

"How long've we got?" Natsuki didn't bother to look for or ask about an escape route, which seemed to bother Nao on a level of hysterics.

"Two minutes at best!" She waved her arms and her eyes darted around. "Kuga, why aren't you doing something? I told you that…"

"I heard you," Natsuki cut her off and turned her back towards her. She was now facing the ocean. "There's no secret passage or anything. Just you, me and a big fuckin' jump between us and that demo charge."

She couldn't see Nao, but she knew that she had caught on by the sharp intake of breath.

"There're lots of rocks down there, too." Natsuki sighed. "Don't know what we might fall on."

Nao was silent for a few long seconds. Her reply was calmer than Natsuki had expected it to be.

"I'm not dying here. I'd rather take my chances and jump than sit and wait to be blown to bits." She stepped next to Natsuki and locked her serious gaze with her indifferent one. "Don't know what that stuff earlier was about, but that guy seems to've been right. But if you really think that way, you _are_ weak. And a coward."

Natsuki did nothing. What Nao said was supposed to make her feel angry, spiteful, motivated to prove her wrong. But she felt none of these. She didn't feel as if this was directed at her.

"Is that it?" Nao scrunched her brows and narrowed her lime eyes, which were gleaming with disappointment. Natsuki didn't bother to answer.

_**Jump. Come on!**_

_Shut up._

The younger girl sighed and Natsuki heard her walking towards the back side of the platform. "I guess there's no helping it then."

_**Fool! JUMP!**_

_Stop telling me what to do! You just don't want to die!_

"See you on the other side," Natsuki mumbled. She heard a grumble in the distance, the sound of Nao's running towards the edge lost in it.

The platform shook with the rabidly approaching explosion. And Natsuki nearly lost her footing and fell, but she kept her balance without thinking. A sudden fear washed over her as she felt the heat approaching. Had Nao already jumped? She hadn't seen her jump.

_It's for the best like this._

_**Coward.**_

Something heavy, but softer than anticipated, powerfully collided with her back. That wasn't the explosion nor was it debris.

The fall was long. Natsuki's body twisted and she was looking at the flames, smoke, pieces of rock and metal blasted into the air right above her. They were going to fall on top of her, she vaguely noted. Nao was waving her hands, as if trying to latch onto something and it seemed as if she was screaming, but her voice was inaudible in all of the chaos.

_**At least she has the balls to make a decision.**_

The familiar sensation of being forcefully submerged into cold waters engulfed her, but this time she was fully conscious of what was happening. Even though she hadn't been able to hold her breath, she could at least attempt to get away before she was crushed to death by the falling debris.

Something different than a rock or a metal scrap brushed against her hand and that was enough for her to grab it and start kicking with all the strength she had left. Natsuki didn't even know if what she had in gripped was indeed Nao, but she didn't have time to ascertain.

She broke the surface of the water with an anguished cry and struggled to breathe. Her left arm tugged hard in order to pull out what she had been holding on to. The feeling of relief at what she saw was so strong that she feared she could peacefully succumb to unconsciousness right then and there.

Debris continued to fall around them and one piece of metal fell too close for comfort. Getting a better hold of Nao, Natsuki started swimming away into the relative safety of the ocean. A fearful grumbling and screeching told her that the whole platform was about to collapse on top of them. Then something hit her on the head. Not enough to render her unconscious, but still it made her reach up and check if she had been injured.

As it turned out, the rope had done her no harm.

* * *

"No!" Mai cried beside her as they helplessly watched from the helicopter how the place where Natsuki and Nao were supposed to be was blown into the air. The explosion echoed so strongly in her ears that she could hear neither her friends' shouts, nor the machine's engine. And for a moment her world went blank, everything disappearing in a mixture of noise, heat and the smell of smoke and destruction. The heli was tossed from the hell current, but the pilot had somehow been able to keep control and not let it fall.

As soon as she could Shizuru – knocked back by the explosion – jumped to her feet. The strong wind tangled her hair and got it in her frantically searching eyes. In her search she was recklessly hanging with nearly all of her body outside the helicopter and if it hadn't been for Reito pulling her in she would have probably fallen during a sharper turn.

"Get it together!" She heard Yamada shout from the cockpit. "They could have escaped!"

The man had been of immense help. The moment she had contacted him, he had requested to meet, since he had some important info. He was an information broker – he didn't offer information just like that.

Shizuru, Mai, Reito, Sugiura and Sagisawa had gone to the rendezvous point – a field a decent ride out of the city. They were shocked to see Yamada himself waiting for them, leaning on a black heli. Where those people got their resources from would always remain a mystery to Shizuru.

When they boarded, Yamada told them he had received a message with a map on Natsuki's location and also that there were explosives planted in the facility. Baffled, at first he hadn't known what to do until Shizuru had called him. Both he and Shizuru didn't like the fact that the people holding Natsuki were not only able to infiltrate the broker's information network, but also they had _known _that somebody would contact him in search of the gang leader. However, any lead and help was welcomed, even if it were a possible trap.

The location on the map was pointing towards a small bay on north of Fuuka island and was not a place where people went to often. Just when they had the heli approaching the facility from the ocean, the explosion had gone off.

"Escaped? We saw the place's blueprints!" Midori waved her hands in agitation. "The only way they could've saved themselves is by jumping from the edge."

"And if the explosion didn't get them, then the falling debris will." Reito scowled and went to the heli's opened door. "We need to search for them in the water!"

They did. The helicopter was circling around where they supposed the two girls would have fallen had they jumped. Shizuru's heart sank to her stomach as she saw only floating metal and chunks still falling from the high rock. Natsuki and Nao were nowhere to be seen. She tried not to let fear overtake her, but the mere thought of her Natsuki disappearing struck her deeper than she could have imagined. The hope that she had felt when it was confirmed that Natsuki had survived her encounter with Tomoe had been viciously thorn away from her.

And even though she had thought about losing Natsuki a lot of times, she still wasn't ready. Her girl wasn't exactly the person to sit and watch as things happened – she always had a hand to play in every major occurrence in the past two years. There wasn't a single mysteriously collapsed building or a wiped-out small crime group without T.N.T.'s interference. Shizuru trusted her that she would come back alive and well, because Natsuki had promised her every single time she would return and she never broke her promises to her. This time, though, she didn't remember Natsuki promising anything.

But reminiscing right now wasn't helping the situation!

"Over there!" Midori's yell abruptly pulled her out from her thoughts and Shizuru snapped her eyes in the direction the teacher was pointing.

It seemed that Natsuki was struggling to stay above the surface, a red-headed body floating next to her. Without thinking Shizuru grabbed a rope, tied one end on a pole inside the heli and threw the other outside, as soon as they were close enough. What was left of the platform angrily rumbled, threatening to fall. They needed to hurry.

Natsuki looked upward and quickly grabbed the rope's end, securely wrapping it around her arm. She pulled Nao and enveloped her body with her free hand. Meeting Shizuru's eyes, she nodded and the student council president gave Reito, Mai and Midori a sign to start to pull together with her. The space inside the helicopter was small and they couldn't move well, but still managed to pull up the two girls relatively fast. Just when Natsuki dragged Nao on board, the platform finally collapsed and Yamada skilfully steered clear and away from the new wave of debris.

Shizuru's first reaction was to embrace Natsuki tightly, barely noticing that the other girl flinched. Shizuru's eyes watered and she pulled back, her hand swiping away at a few strands of wet hair covering her love's exhausted face.

Soaked and freezing, Natsuki's skin was ashen, her lips blue and there were bruises all over the visible parts of her body. After a brief moment of relief they both shared in silence, Natsuki's barely seeing eyes turned towards Nao's limp form, to which Yohko was now attending. Mai was crouching next to them, assisting the doctor in whatever manner she could.

"Natsuki…" Shizuru whispered, afraid that the girl would disappear. It seemed as if half of her, in fact, had. The lifeless look in her eyes and her lack of response to anything that happened was quite disturbing. Only when Nao started coughing water out and rasped to breathe did Natsuki show any sign of life – the corners of her eyes twitched and something like guilt and pain swam in them before they closed. Natsuki's head fell backwards as she lost consciousness.

Shizuru's hands shot towards her and she prevented her from falling on the floor. She looked at Reito for aid and he helped her move Natsuki on one of the three seats the helicopter had to offer. Behind her Nao's coughing had stopped and Sagisawa was talking to her patient, making sure she was alright.

Soon Nao had a blanket around her and was seated next to Natsuki, pointedly not looking at her. The fresh-man was looking no better than the gang leader. While she didn't have as much bruises, she also seemed tired and barely awake. However she was strong enough to lock eyes with Shizuru.

"Your girlfriend's bat-shit crazy," she wheezed and coughed. "You should incarcerate her and feed her stars, rainbows and mayonnaise infused chocolate until she stops behaving suicidal. Or _you_ could try making her happier."

While Shizuru was extremely grateful to Nao for being there with Natsuki, she had to make an effort not to cause the younger girl any more physical harm. She only smiled weakly.

"Could you tell me what happened, Yuuki-han?"

Nao grumbled and Youko put a hand to her forehead. The doctor threw a worried look at Shizuru.

"I deem it best the two of them rested for now. I don't know if…"

"No." Shizuru stared at Mai's unyielding frown. "We need to know exactly happened so that we can act fast. We can't let the other groups gain on us. Time is of essence."

"Mai-han…" Shizuru creased her brows, noticing how her friend was practically hunching under the weight of her own words. Mai was a gentle person and if it were up to her, she would've let Natsuki and Nao sleep a week, make them meals and let all of them rest. But she was assuming command at the moment as T.N.T.'s second-in-command. A post she had never taken with such seriousness before.

"Good thinking, Tokiha." Nao nodded and tried blinking herself to a more adequate state. "Sure. Just a sec."

Sagisawa was rummaging in her bag, not wasting time and starting to treat Natsuki's most pressing injuries as Nao began her story.

"When I got to where Kuga and Marguerite were supposed to meet, I saw that psycho laughing like a maniac and yelling some gibberish about Kuga and myself. She left shortly after that without checking if Kuga was dead. I searched for the… body, but that Miyu Greer was faster and found her before me. Kuga and I fought with her, but the bitch was too strong. Next thing I knew we were riding with Miyu Greer and Alyssa Searrs.

"The snotty brat explained that Greer was an AI and that its body was her mobile platform – in other words an android; that's why it was like a monster. Also, it so happens that the brat was genetically created by Kuga's mom, which in turn makes them a happy twisted family.

"Then the van was ambushed, and we got abducted again. This time by Kuga's father's bunch. They called for her and when she returned she was… upset. We split up, I found the charges, went to warn Kuga, we had an argument and I pushed her off the cliff when the world exploded. And that's pretty much all of it."

Shizuru rarely showed her genuine emotions, but this time she was sure she had a boggled expression plastered all over her face. Excluding the fact that it was unclear due to Nao's exhaustion, the story still was… incredulous. Judging by the shocked silence and the scowl on Nao's face, the others were as equally confused. Even the doctor had paused in adding some kind of ointment around Natsuki's neck in order to listen.

"So Tomoe indeed was able to beat her?" Mai finally mumbled, this being only the first of many issues that were now bothering them. "She wasn't just pulling our foot, she was serious. I… can't imagine what kind of trick…"

"While that _is_ important, I believe that we need further clarity on the problem with Searrs. Searrs are Smith and Smith is Searrs, that's a known fact in the First District." Reito's calmness somehow managed to ease the tension. "Yuuki-san, we'll need you to give us more details regarding your encounter with the little lady."

Nao nodded and grimaced as she shifted in her seat.

"Gosh, doc, don't you have any pain-killers?" she groaned and Youko regretfully shook her head.

"Not if we want to keep you lucid."

"Figures."

* * *

When the world was clear once more she took a look around. She wasn't familiar with the place. A spacious room, a comfortable bed, heavy curtains and light colours – no, she hadn't been in this bedroom before. She licked her lips and heaved herself up. Something was weighing her down.

Natsuki looked down and saw that the most gracious creature she knew uncomfortably slumped sleeping on a chair next to her bed, her head resting on her crossed on the bed hands. Shizuru was breathing evenly, but her face betrayed that she was troubled. She looked very tired, her skin tone, usually a healthy colour, now sickly pale and her long wavy hair unkempt. Natsuki reached down and stroked her lovingly, careful not to wake her up.

Shizuru stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. Reasoning that letting her girlfriend sleep in such a position wasn't the wisest thing she nudged her slightly, calling her name.

"Hey, Shizuru," she said again softly, her voice hoarse. When she drew in a breath to clear it, she felt bandages around her chest.

The other girl's eyes fluttered open and she blinked a few times before almost jolting up straight into her chair.

"How is Natsuki feeling?" was the first thing she said, all sleep gone from her face and voice.

"Fine." Natsuki shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin, intending to reassure. "What about you? And Nao and the rest?"

"Doctor Sagisawa said that by first glance you had fractured ribs – none broken, thank God – and a mild concussion. You _can't _be fine, Natsuki. All that you've went through… You're lucky you didn't suffer from…"

"I know, I know," Natsuki cut her off with a grimace of displeasure of her own. "You didn't answer my questions."

Shizuru creased her brows.

"I am well, as you can see. Yuuki-han is currently resting, but she should be fully recovered very soon, if the slight fever she has at the moment doesn't worsen. The others… Well. Natsuki, you shouldn't…"

"Tell me." Her tone didn't leave place for refusal. "I'm going to be up and about in no time. What I'm more concerned about is what happened during the time I was gone."

Shizuru told her. They were both silent as Natsuki pensively stared at the ceiling.

"I see," she finally said. It was hard to take in all that had happened. But at least now it made more sense when she combined everything she knew. "So there's been no news from Chie?"

"Regretfully, no." Shizuru shook her head and got up from her chair. "For now all we can do is wait. I'm going to get you something to eat and drink."

"I'm not hungry."

Natsuki clutched her sheets and turned her head away from Shizuru's questioning crimson gaze. She wanted to get out of this room, out of Fuuka, off this world. She wanted to go to some place where she knew for sure what was what and more importantly – who she _really_ was.

Was she a feared gang leader only because of what her mother and father had done to her, or was it her own work? Would she have her friends, comrades and resources if she wasn't her father's twisted experiment? And if her mother had never truly loved her only as her child, but not a project, would this revenge mean anything?

Feeling that her eyes had begun to water, she closed them and covered them with her hand.

"Natsuki?" Shizuru's concerned voice came closer than she remembered the girl had been standing. "Please, tell me what's wrong."

Shizuru squeezed her free hand and waited patiently for Natsuki to respond.

"I… Well… It's really hard putting this into words, Shizuru," Natsuki still didn't dare reveal her teary eyes, her voice almost cracking. "First, there was Tomoe. She had her limbs replaced by mechanic ones, which pack the punch of a rocket launcher. I was beaten like it was nothing to her. When I thought I had won, she just crawled back and nearly killed me. I went there to find Akane and this is what happens. If it wasn't for Nao, I would be at the bottom of Fuuka bay!"

"You can't possibly blame yourself for that," Shizuru protested gently, seeking only to comfort. "You couldn't have known you would be facing something like that. And there was no way in which you could've prepared."

"After that," Natsuki continued with Shizuru's words having almost no impact, "there were Alyssa and Miyu. Just one more experiment like me."

"What do you-?"

"And then that all-mighty bastard entered the picture, ruining everything I thought I was and was fighting for! He explained every single fucking detail of how and why I was raised and there was no single speck of anything else than science and ambition behind it. I learn that I'm not really who I thought I was and then he says that it doesn't matter, because he doesn't want to kill me anymore."

She could hear Shizuru make a sharp intake of breath, but she just couldn't stop talking as all that had happened demanded to come out of her. Emotions swept over her like a torrent and she nearly lost all self-control she possessed, barely keeping herself from breaking down.

"After that Nao comes running telling me the place's gonna blow up in the air and I just stand there. Doing _nothing. _I couldn't make a call, Shizuru. I could've gotten both of us killed, because I thought I'd be better off _dead_. And worst part is, I still believe so."

The tears were now freely rolling down her cheeks and ragged sobs were tearing out of her throat, all of the pent up pain trying to escape all at once. Shizuru turned placed a warm palm on Natsuki's damp cheek and carefully turned her lover's head so that they could look at each other. All fight now gone from Natsuki, she let blurrily gazed at Shizuru's eyes hoping that there she could find some form of explanation to everything.

"Natsuki," Shizuru quietly began, while her thumb was caressing the other girl's cheek. "No matter what happens, who you have to face or whatever truth you will stumble upon, I want you to be sure of one thing. Just like Natsuki's promised me that she will always come back, I promise that I will always be there waiting. Maybe I can't be of much help, but I will be there ready to give. To me it doesn't matter who you think you are – I already _know_ who you are."

Natsuki grit her teeth, trying to prevent another cry from tearing itself from her throat. She took a deep breath and spoke spitefully, already sorry for undeservedly directing her anger and frustration at the only person who had been there for her since the moment they'd met.

"Who _am_ I then? Please, tell me! Because I've no idea anymore!"

Shizuru didn't wait a heart-beat.

"You're an angry, sardonic, plotting individual. You're sometimes uncontrollable, insufferable, selfish and intolerable. You like playing games with people and you love being in control. You can't live without knowing that everything is in your palm. You never wanted friends, because you didn't think much of other people." Every single word that came of Shizuru's mouth ripped away a piece of Natsuki.

"If so… If so, why do you say you love me? Why…?"

"I'm not finished yet!" Shizuru raised her tone, effectively cutting off any protests. "You're also obsessed with protecting those you deem your close people. I'd also bet my life that if someone of us is put in danger, you'd give your all to save us. What happened with Higurashi-han is proof enough. I'm sure you already a plan how we could get Harada-han and Senou-han back. And when you put your mind to something, you see it through no matter what. And I _love_ you for the person you are."

Natsuki shook her head and weaved a hand through her hair in frustration.

"Things've changed. I'm conflicted, I've never been…"

"Please, Natsuki, you've always been conflicted." Shizuru's lips lifted in a comforting smile, though it didn't manage to reach her eyes. "You talk of schemes and manipulating people, using them as stepping stones, but truth is you're very straight-forward; it's just that you're widely misunderstood. You think you're doing all of this just for revenge and yourself and maybe in the beginning it was just like that. However, look at what you've got now!"

Natsuki hadn't noticed when her tears had stopped as she was desperately struggling to believe what Shizuru was telling her. She seemed pretty sure of what she was saying, so if she could believe her own words, so could Natsuki. Shizuru was the only person she could fully trust at the moment.

_**The voice of reason which won after you lost your own mind. **_

"You have friends, who think the world of you," Shizuru continued. "There must've been _something_ you did to earn their trust, so that they're here now. We'll overcome whatever needs be and then we'll come on top. Because we have you.

"You've always beaten the odds and we all believe in you. In _Natsuki Kuga_, not Kruger, not Blackwood, or whatever you thought you were or were told to be. You need to continue what you've been doing until now and we'll always follow you. And if everyone else can't do that, I'll take up their roles."

"I'm not sure, Shizuru," Natsuki sighed. She couldn't put up a tough front anymore – she was mentally and physically at her limits already. "It's the end game now. How do I prepare us for it? How can I get ready for it? I've lost the last round and now the gap of strength is overwhelming. All that I've gathered in the past is gone. All but a handful of people, who just won't be enough."

"_I_ don't know, Natsuki. But you do. You continue to push, plan, threaten and even cajole a bit until you have what you want. What you've always wanted. We both know that now you hold all the answers – just say the word and we'll jump in the fire. No second-guessing. When you see the path, you'll just know. I trust you."

Natsuki gulped and managed a soft smile, which Shizuru warmly returned and with a peck on the forehead, she got up.

"And now I'll go get that meal I promised you earlier."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Shizuru. Thank you."

"Oh, don't worry, Mai-han made the food." Shizuru straightened her crumpled clothes and even though she wasn't the picture of perfection, she was closer now. "And I know how much you love running off to somewhere to do who knows what. So wait for me?"

"Always."

Natsuki's chest became lighter.


	29. Chapter 29

_**A/N: And here's the promised chapter! Contrary to popular belief though, life doesn't slow down after exams and continues in its hectic flow. So here's something to chew on until my next update. It's shorter than the last chapter, but that was to be expected, right? I've almost reached the end of the story and the end is pretty much decided. It ain't gonna be pretty, just to warn you. I wasn't a big fan of the Mai-HiME ending (neither of Otome's, but I wasn't that fond of Otome to begin with): all problems solved with resurrecting **_**all**_** the characters... That shucked. I think that the writers could've done a better job. Though if we didn't have the 'happy ending', we wouldn't have all those wonderful stories that are labled as 'Post-Carnival'. **_

_**Special thanks to sdfsd (you crack me up), mgcbs, DezoPenguin, ali, PostoronnimV, Platina GF, xx Catty xx, and the three guests for writing me a review! They make everybody happy! And also, let's also not forget to thank all those who faved and have put the 'follow' flag on this story! Seriously, thanks for the support. **_

_**About the chapter... **__**(I don't like it... can't we go forward without me posting it?)** _Nothing much to say. Except that I just realised that there's almost no chapters with Natsuki-Nao interaction, in which they don't beat each other. **o.O**_** Okay, just to say: I'm not doing it intentionally. And I seriously need to stop abusing Nao. Don't worry, some serious Kill Nat is coming your way. Just not today. **_

_**I love the characters, they'll all have their glorious time! Most of them, anyway. ENJOY!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

Shizuru looked at what Natsuki considered food in the overfilled bowl. It wasn't a sight to be seen on an empty stomach, although it could probably cause one.

"I see Mai-han is well acquainted with your particular tastes," the President managed to lightly jab at Natsuki's tendency to put mayonnaise on almost everything she ate. The hungry girl only threw an annoyed and at the same time bashful glance, but continued to devour her meal.

The bowl of what looked like mayonnaise topped with ramen that Natsuki was absorbing was put on the night stand as soon as the door opened and doctor Sagisawa came inside. She regarded her patient with a small smile.

"I see you're feeling better now, Kuga-san." The doctor turned towards Shizuru, at which the girl straightened. "I'd be even gladder if our beloved student council president also gave herself a break."

"You needn't worry, sensei. I'm feeling perfectly rested," Shizuru stoically answered, though she knew she was fooling no-one. But the other two knew better than to argue with her on that topic.

"I actually came to tell you that Yuuki-san is also wide awake and her condition is improving." Yohko shook her head with a light laugh. "I don't know if stubbornness can be a cure, but it sure works in both your cases, Kuga-san. When all of this is over, I would like to conduct a more in-depth study on you and Yuuki-san."

"I'd disappoint you, doc." Natsuki's face fell a bit. "I for one know that it's not the stubborn streak that does it for me. But feel free to dissect Nao. Let me know if there's something like a primitive nervous centre in her skull."

Although at first looking a bit confused, Sagisawa left the two girls alone without further questions, chuckling on her way out.

"You know," Shizuru began hesitantly, "you shouldn't feel guilty for having more than others. We're all painfully aware that this is how life works."

"Funny how it still works when it has so many missing and broken parts." Natsuki threw the blankets off her and stood up, stretching her back. Shizuru didn't have time to express her disagreement to the action. The dark-haired girl, clad in a pair of worn sweat pants and a T-shirt, grabbed her half-eaten bowl of… food… and made her way to the door.

"I'm gonna check on Nao," she declared and gave Shizuru a half-smile. "Thanks a lot for… for everything."

Shizuru smiled sincerely in return. "Don't mention it."

* * *

"Make a U-turn and leave, Kuga. And take your dog food with you." Nao glared from her resting spot on the completely covered by pillows and blankets couch. She didn't look all that pleased when Natsuki emerged from the bedroom and went straight to her.

Natsuki wordlessly sat on the floor right next to her friend and resumed slurping on her delicious lunch. She still didn't understand why people demanded she stop eating what she liked. Bad for the health or not, mayonnaise was the one and only thing that had made her appalling cooking taste good. It grew on her after some time.

"Say, how come I don't get a bedroom with a king-sized bed?" Nao continued to grumble at her, folding her wrapped in bandages arms. "I was more heavily injured!"

"How are you?" Natsuki put away her finished meal and leaned backwards, resting her weight on her elbows. As Nao didn't respond immediately, Natsuki wondered if she was embarrassed about something and that's why she kept to herself. Her worries were soon forgotten when she did receive an answer.

"I ain't talking to dead people."

"Wha-?"

"You died back there, Kuga." Nao kept staring at a painting on the wall. Natsuki could tell she wasn't admiring the skill of the artist, though. Both of them were somewhere else. For one, she knew she was back on the platform, waiting for the charge to go off. The gang leader just waited. What could she say?

"You're dead, Kuga."

_**You're dead.**_

_I died. No, I…_

Natsuki opened her mouth and closed it as soon as she figured that she could make no sound of disagreement. She felt dust on her lips and the breath she drew in to calm down tasted like the ocean. But her lungs were filled with smoke and when she tried to cough it out, she choked, as she drew in seawater with her every breath. Before she could start panicking, she heard Nao shifting and desperately focused on that.

"You and I, both." Nao lifted herself in a sitting position, not shifting her gaze from the autumn landscape on the wall. "I asked the doc about this painting, see. She told me it was a replica of a very famous work, which was burnt to nothing during a fire in a gallery. Don't you find it kinda fitting for us?"

"I'm not following," Natsuki lowly rasped, half-expecting for water to spill out of her mouth.

"The painting, Kuga. Pretty, but fake. Once existent, now only preserved by its copies. Just like us. Spectres."

"That's…" She hesitated and scowled at the floor.

"Not true? No, Kuga," Nao sniggered, her eyes darkening. "Since that accident five years ago I've always been out for revenge. Nothing has changed and never was I alive since then. I can't get my revenge, though. I know that now. And you? I don't even know what your glorious reason about bringing this chaos is, but I do know one thing about you. You lie. Your whole life is a lie. Kuga, you don't fool me anymore and you should stop fooling yourself too."

_**You had it coming, coward.**_

Cold emptiness filled her head for a moment before the anger pushed in. She leapt to her feet, feeling way more nimble and strong than she had a few minutes ago. Back inside her head she wanted to stop and do the clever thing, but her emotions again got the better of her.

When she grabbed Nao by the collar she barely noticed the brief flash of surprise on the girl's face, which was soon replaced by a smug look, as if she knew this was coming. Tightening her grip, Natsuki grinded her teeth fighting back the urge to head-butt that smirking idiot. Was Nao once again playing with her? Why did she keep driving her up the wall?

Natsuki barely heard Mai's shout until she felt her busty friend on her back gripping her in some kind of a semi-effective lock. She had pulled Nao out of her make-shift bed and the younger girl's toes were barely touching the fine carpet. Mai screamed something once again. Natsuki let up her grip and Nao slumped on the ground, slightly coughing, but still looking up provocatively. This had happened one too many times.

Mai spun Natsuki around and slapped her with the force of a charging bison. Natsuki staggered pass Nao a bit and turned her stare to Mai, clenching her fists. Her friend had hit her in such a manner only once and back then it hadn't hurt as much. Watery lilac eyes bore a hole in Natsuki and she slightly flinched.

"What do you think you two are doing?" The second-in-command demanded in a screech. "One moment you jab at each other and the next you start talking about… about… Stop it!"

Natsuki tried to hide the guilt of upsetting Mai that much behind a mask of cold indifference. She noticed from the corner of her eye that others were rushing into the living room, halting behind a dropped tray. Shizuru carefully stepped over the broken glass and the spilled food.

"What's going on? What happened?" She inquired, the presidential authority of her entire aura emitting a demand for a thorough explanation. Surprisingly, she didn't receive one. Natsuki didn't dare to turn and look her in the eye. Not after all they had talked about earlier. Not after what she just heard and did.

"Nothing happened," she and Nao answered almost simultaneously. Mai wiped her eyes and glared at both of them.

"Yeah, I call bullshit on that," Midori interjected, her voice holding way more irritation and seriousness than usual. "Mai-chan doesn't get _that _upset over nothing."

Silence followed. Natsuki could see that everybody was now present. If the crash of the broken dishes hadn't alerted them, the shouting had. Nearly all of her allies were gathered.

It was now the time to act. The fact that she didn't feel ready wasn't important. If they weren't given something to do, they would miss the moment to counterattack. She would lose control completely.

_**Do it. It's vital to remember who you really are.**__** Remind them, since they've forgotten!**_

_Shut it. I know who I am. I lead and you sit and watch._

"I'm not dead. You're not dead. Nobody's dying anymore," Natsuki firmly stated and all heads turned towards her. She spun around and locked her now calmer eyes with Nao's slightly surprised ones. "This time nobody's dying. Not me, not you, not any of us."

She purposefully took a step towards Shizuru, but didn't focus on her. Then she took a deep breath and she faintly took in her calming scent. That alone was enough for her to continue with even more confidence than before.

"Next time we're all covered in mud and turn around, the people we care about will be right there behind us. They'll wipe our eyes clean, give us a kick in the ass and send us back fighting for what we believe in."

She spoke while steadily pacing around, but her boiling emotions were catching up to her. And to top it off, the inspirational speeches were never spoken by her directly. It was always Blackwood who knew what to do, she only followed.

_That's not good. Don't stop to think. Tell them what you all want to hear. _

"It all started as a fight against what was wrong and now it's turned into a battle for survival." At that she met Reito's darkened by disbelief eyes. "Let's turn it into a war for what's right."

_And when they believe, make it happen._

"We're going to free our friends." Natsuki could feel that little by little she was winning them. One by one, they were beginning to regain their will to reach for what they wanted. "The rest of T.N.T. Chie, Aoi, Okuzaki…"

_Mai and Takumi._

"The Sergay fan-club…"

_Irina Woods._

"Suzushiro, Yukino, the teachers and students…"

_Sagisawa and Midori._

"By destroying Searrs and the First District..."

_Mikoto and Kanzaki._

"…we'll not only be able to save those we hold dear…"

_Shizuru._

"…but ourselves, as well."

_Nao._

"And protect our own souls till the end."

_Me._

Reito's refreshingly boyish laughter broke the heavy and determined silence, which had ensued after Natsuki had finished. It seemed as if he was going to clap in delight, but instead he reached down at his sister, who was standing on his left. He affectionately ruffled her hair and Mikoto looked up puzzled at him, but happy none the less.

"That was very bold, Natsuki-san." He allowed himself to lower the formality in addressing her, which didn't disturb Natsuki as much as she thought it would. "Does that mean that you're finally going to lower your hand and show us what cards you're holding?"

"To you I may as well be transparent, Kanzaki." Natsuki smirked and folded her arms. She was quite sure that the young man knew almost everything there was to know about her. Except maybe some of her very personal background.

"If you mean that I can barely see you when you act, you are right." He smiled lightly and motioned for the kitchen. "Why don't we all sit comfortably in the kitchen and have a nice chat. And tea, perhaps?"

* * *

Mai sipped on her Earl Grey and decided that the taste was too strong still, even though she had put a lump of sugar already. After the next two, she stirred with the stylishly polished tea-spoon, putting it afterwards next to her fine cup. Doctor Sagisawa sure was a big spender when it came to her comfort, Mai concluded.

Takumi nudged her arm and she regarded him with a weak smile. Her little brother returned it with a comforting squeeze of their hands. She was certain he could still feel that she was upset and very much disturbed by what she had seen earlier between Nao and Natsuki.

Mai cradled in her lap the hand with which she had hit Natsuki and thought once again about the whole quarrel. At first she had been quietly watching with a smile as they friendly bantered, but when Nao had said that Natsuki had died… And the look on Natsuki's face!

Mai had thought that the girl would collapse right then and there, as her face had changed a few dreadful colours. That coupled with the expressions of utter defeat and horror both Natsuki and Nao had shown, was able to render Mai absolutely unable to say anything or move, the tray with freshly made food silently shaking in her hands.

And Mai's lucid train of thought and memory ended after Natsuki had lost grip over her self-restraint. Next thing Mai knew, her hand was burning with pain, her eyes brimming with tears and Natsuki was glaring daggers back at her.

She shook her head.

Now Natsuki was seated, whether for good measure or by accident, completely opposite Nao, who was coldly observing the others: Irina, Midori, Sagisawa, Reito, Mikoto, Natsuki, Shizuru, Takumi and Mai. When the pair of lime orbs landed on Mai, Nao quickly chose instead to look disdainfully at Natsuki.

Again, it was Reito who spoke first. All of them settled down after he cleared his throat.

"The First District won't lay low for long. Not after the clash at the Academy recently. Searrs obviously decided it was high time they obtained the final piece of the cloning experiments that the District was keeping secret." Reito was dead-serious while he summarised. "The District's scientists can not only create what we call 'life', but also can make the body sustain a certain age for long periods of time. This hasn't been perfected yet, but the results are undeniable: years of experience crammed into the child bodies of Kazahana Mashiro and Homura Nagi."

"The crippled girl and the albino brat that runs after you?" Natsuki lifted her brows, though she didn't sound surprised. Reito nodded.

"I told you that the experiments weren't perfect, but now w… the First District is getting closer to creating a nearly perfect human. Physically and mentally unmatched and in other words – the perfect soldier. Your mother came pretty close, Natsuki-san."

The whole room became smaller as everybody, besides Natsuki and Reito, inhaled sharply. Even though Mai had expected for Natsuki's mother to be brought in the conversation, she was surprised it had happened so soon.

"Yes, she did," Natsuki gravely agreed. "That's why she was chased and murdered."

* * *

"_So, what happened, Natsuki?" Mai asked coldly, while stirring dinner at the small oven they had in their dorm. Mikoto was out and it was only the two of them, Natsuki sitting stiffly on Mai's bed. "You said you wanted to talk to me about something."_

"_Yeah," her friend mumbled. "You wanted to know more, so here goes."_

_Mai was still quite furious, but when she turned around to regard Natsuki, she couldn't help it and her expression softened. _

"_I don't have any memories in which mom and I aren't being chased or aren't running from Smith's men. She knew something and when she quit working for them, they wanted it for themselves. What I know is that she was a researcher over at some company called Iwasaka Pharmaceuticals. I'd suppose that was a cover or something, since later it turned out that she was actually working for the Searrs Foundation – the group behind Smith."_

"_Look, you don't have to tell me all of this, if it makes you feel uneasy…" Mai was starting to feel a bit guilty for forcing Natsuki to talk about something painful._

"_No, you need to know. It's… important." Natsuki bit her lip like a timid child. "So, when I was ten, they finally caught up with us. At that time we were residing in a tall apartment flat near the downtown. Not too far from my old apartment, actually. I always hated my old place. I thought father rented it for me just to make me miserable and to break me for one of his sick reasons. But I refused to run away – I didn't want to give the bastard that pleasure._

_"Anyway, one day when I came home from shopping, I saw her on the parking lot. Or what was left of her." She cringed and closed her eyes. Mai took a step towards her, but something made her stop._

"_She was shot and shoved out from out apartment's window. We lived on the tenth floor. People were just staring and a young woman was in hysterics. I said and did nothing. Just stared. I'm not sure you can imagine what happens to a human body when…"_

"_Enough," Mai harshly cut off her friend. "That's enough."_

_Natsuki looked at her with unhidden surprise. She shifted in her spot._

"_I… I don't want you to talk about this anymore, Natsuki." Mai turned around and started tending to the now beginning to burn dinner. She didn't let Natsuki see that there were tears in the corners of her eyes. "I can guess everything after that. You cried, got in fights with your dad, tried to find the truth why your mom was killed and struggled to live in this city by yourself. And you turned up a good person. Well, considering."_

"_Mai…"_

"_Get the table ready."_

"_You were wrong about some of that." Behind her Natsuki clattered with whatever was on the small dorm table, while clearing it. "I've yet to shed a tear for her."_

"_We're eating burned curry tonight." Mai turned around, carefully holding the steaming dinner._

_She saw Natsuki smiling to herself and even more regret and sadness washed over her._

"_Too bad for Mikoto then. I get to eat her share."_

* * *

"Kuga Saeko put quite some effort in trying to correct some of the… defects the scientists before her caused both Kazahana and Nagi. After her regretful passing…"

Natsuki quietly growled something under her breath, which prompted Shizuru to put an arm on her shoulder.

"…her research was retrieved and recently completely decrypted by Searrs. It read that her private experiment was a success, but it didn't point towards the test subject. The identity of the person who possesses all of those qualities of a _better_ human is unknown." Reito intertwined his fingers in front of his face. "You wouldn't happen to know something about that?"

"Hm, not the slightest. Mother indeed kept her research private. That, and a brat at the age of nine would never be able to understand something so complex, right?" Natsuki scolded at the unpleasant topic. "But that research is the reason why Smith killed her and why I've been after him. Initially, that is. Later on I, along with the help of Yamada, found out about most of the deals going down in the city's underground world. It turned out to be a huge world too. Every single crime syndicate was connected to Smith and his government dogs. And that's why I want to remove the mere memory of that bunch from my city."

Mai finally realized the only reason why Natsuki had restlessly pushed on with this fight for so long. It was just because she wanted to protect the memory of the time she had shared with her small family in Fuuka. For her, her mother still lived in this city. Though the feeling this apprehension carried didn't bring Mai peace or calm. Instead, she wondered how far was Natsuki willing to go if she continued and where would that lead them all.

"That would lead to seditions and chaos. You should know it, Kuga-san." Youko put down her own cup of coffee. She didn't look a tad bit convinced that the whole 'seizing the power' would solve anything. "Have you thought of what comes after?"

"Every damn day, doc." Everybody's attention was on Natsuki yet again. "In place of Smith, we're going to put someone of our own. That person will lead in that bastard's stead for some time until the crime system is destroyed completely."

"That would take years!" Midori exclaimed and jumped to her feet. "And it would be way too suspicious!"

"I agree. But recently the world has shown us that there is no such thing as an impossible feat." Shizuru took the word and Midori lowered her vigorously waving arms. "If the people believe."

"And I need you to make everybody believe," Natsuki stressed the last part.

"Believe what?" Irina hesitantly fixed her glasses and shifted.

"A lie. The Lie, to be precise." The gang leader crossed her arms and smirked. "We've done it countless times."

"Yes," Mai whispered, the whole plan dawning on her. With that came a sudden boost of hope and she raised her voice. "Up until now T.N.T. has won through lies and bluffing. We're actually pretty good at this!"

"My, my," Reito laughed again. "You people are way more interesting than I've ever imagined. Way more than the First District ever was. You're… innovative."

"Don't even compare us, Kanzaki." Natsuki warned him and he lifted his arms in defence.

"Very well, Natsuki-san. I'll go with this grand lie of yours and bet everything on this game. Let's only hope we don't lose."

"Don't worry, Reito-san," Mai assured the young man with a sigh. "One of the things Natsuki does best is bluffing."

* * *

She was sitting on the edge of the bed slouched, brooding. The voices of the others couldn't be heard anymore, which only meant they were fast asleep already. Tonight darkness was again her only companion and she wondered if it would be for the best if it remained like that for the rest of her life. There was a hesitant tap on the door.

_Well, not everybody's asleep, it seems. _

Natsuki went to the door and opened it herself, not wanting to raise her voice. She smiled and let Shizuru slip inside like a cat seeking warmth and shelter from the cold outside. The young woman had an unusual air of distress around her and her troubled eyes followed intently Natsuki's every move. They both tip-toed around each other nervously (or at least Natsuki was) until they both settled down on the opposite ends of the pleasingly large bed.

Shizuru's gaze was now fixed on her folded hands lying in her lap. Natsuki had never seen her beloved so anxious for no apparent reason. The only times when Shizuru let herself be so openly vulnerable was when she was too busy worrying about Natsuki, instead of paying attention to her perfect mask. The gang leader didn't know whether she felt happy that she had noticed this or alarmed. She said nothing, though, waiting for the other to speak.

"Tomorrow you'll be heading to that place," Shizuru finally breathed shakily out. Natsuki frowned.

"That's what we decided, yes."

"You're… Natsuki's not planning on coming back, is she?" Shizuru's sad smile was barely visible in the darkness, her face only visible because of the weak light coming from behind the curtains. Even though her voice and eyes were crying, Natsuki felt no tears when she gently caressed her face.

"I'm always coming back. I promised, right?" She reassuringly pulled Shizuru in a tight embrace with her free arm. And even though she herself said that, she wasn't sure if it was what she deserved. The next day marked the beginning of a bitter, but long-sought end, and if it was a favourable one, she was going to live to tell the tale.

"I hate this moon," Shizuru suddenly mumbled against her shoulder.

"Oh?"

"The light from it can only let me see so little of your beauty. You shine brighter in the sunlight, my Natsuki." She was tracing circles on Natsuki's lower back, which made the usually stoic girl's breathing hitch.

"Flatterer." Shizuru's movements slowed down as Natsuki lowered her voice down to a husky whisper. "But don't you think darkness suits me better?"

"Tonight. Only tonight." Darkened eyes were now looking at the very depths of Natsuki's soul. She felt completely naked and defenceless when looked at in such a way. "For when the moon sets and the sun rises, I won't see you again. You'll disappear into the light."

_A dream fading away._

"What nonsense is that, Shizuru?" Natsuki mumbled, unable to move.

"You've already decided, I know you." Shizuru's breath brushed against Natsuki's lips.

"That's not true," Natsuki weakly protested and involuntarily leaned forward. "I can't decide something like that on my own."

Earlier she had indeed thought of going down with all of her enemies, burying them along with the past and herself. It was going to be cleaner this way. She would leave the details after that to Mai and Nao. After all, she deserved her perfect closure. But the thought of Shizuru always stopped her and made her hesitate. Perhaps there was still a way for her to go on after completing her goal. The key to that lay with Shizuru, she was sure.

"You make me want to come back. No matter what I'll have to face." She didn't recognize her own voice as she closed her eyes and leaned in. "And when we all come back, we'll wake up and walk in the sun."

"Without a single cloud in the skies." Shizuru mirrored the motion and pressed their lips together.

_After all, a shadow like me is as strong as is the light casting it._

Until then it had been impossible for Natsuki to bring herself to understand the hunger behind every kiss they shared. The desperation behind it all was the fear it would all end the next moment. She knew that now and she also felt the same hunger. It was so regretful she realized it only now, as it was certainly too late to make up for the lost time.

She had paid Shizuru so little attention, while her beloved had deserved so much more. Natsuki had been so focused on bringing the carefree tomorrow that she had forgotten she lived today. As their lips danced together in the same rhythm, Natsuki wondered how many times she had refused Shizuru tenderness in order to pursue her revenge. It seemed so meaningless now.

She was at the bottom again, after she had learned the truth she had so zealously pursued. All of her accumulated forces gone, down to whatever resources she could afford with the last of her money, fighting with a handful of people against a bigger enemy than before. She felt as if she had been forcefully shoved back in time through a keyhole. That's how small she felt. But then, Shizuru had been there to tell her it was alright. That she had taken another step forward, not back.

The same Shizuru who was now so distractingly playing with Natsuki's self-restraint. When a honey-coated moan filled the comfortable silence, Natsuki pushed her partner on the soft mattress.

"Quiet, you'll wake up the others." She eagerly buried her face in Shizuru's neck, just breathing in her scent at first. That obviously didn't help, for another moan followed immediately.

"Mean, mean, Natsuki… I love you so."

"I… I love you too."

Natsuki finally said what Shizuru had always deserved to hear. The young woman under her let out something between a gasp and a soft laugh. Natsuki was elated at having Shizuru react that way, so she repeated her proclamation with every kiss that followed.

And if indeed they got out alive from this mess, Shizuru would hear those words every single day.

* * *

The door was ajar, but there was a tentative tap on it which startled Natsuki and she woke up with a jolt. She snapped her still sleepy eyes at the warmth next to her and gulped when she saw Shizuru's unmistakable form. Scantily clad form.

_Uh, that's right. Nothing happened._

_**You perv.**_

Blushing and certainly not in the mood to be mentally bashed by herself (and her other self), she grunted and slipped out of the bed. The tapper behind the door obviously hadn't noticed that Natsuki was wide awake and continued with the improvised Morse code. The action itself was bizarre, as if the person maybe wanted to alert Natsuki of their presence, without actually being heard.

"What do you want, Nao?" Natsuki grumpily whispered, now aware there were a good few hours until dawn. Tired, but sharp lime eyes flashed at her from behind dishevelled fiery hair.

"I don't believe your crap, Kuga." Nao's voice tightened around Natsuki's neck and continued hissing in her ear. "I'm coming only because I'll be bored here alone."

"Is that right?"

"Remember: you're mine to ruin."

"Get in the fucking line. I'll be waiting for you, so don't leave me hanging." Natsuki rubbed her neck and headed back for the comfort of Shizuru's company.

_You take care too, idiot._


	30. Chapter 30

_**A/N: I've been writing like crazy the last few days. I hope this won't affect the story and it won't feel that much rushed, unless in the place it's intended to. I'm a bit sad that it will all end in the next four chapters (not counting this one), but everything has an end. Except for sausages, which have two. **_

_**My deep thanks to wanderer, PlatinaGF, DezoPenguin, the sdf-loving gentleman/lady (at first when I saw my mail list with 'emosewa' I was kinda confused, but then I read I opened the review page and it hit me XD), ali, xx Catty xx, PostoronnimV, Gregori, noah114, and the three nameless guests for the reviews. I'll allow myself to address some of the points you generous people have made.**_

_**To wanderer: Whether Natsuki lives or dies will remain a secret till the very last moment. Bwahahaha.**_

_**To Dezo: Don't worry, there'll be a lot of shooting, explosions, destruction, etc. just like in the original series. :) In my defense, I was under the influence of my favorite shounen-anime when I started writing the last chapters. But there will be a decent explanation (I hope) at the very end. **_

_**To noah114: This story's been a ShizNat even before the first chapter was written. ;) I simply chose to put Natsuki and Nao in the description, because the plot revolves more around those two. I intend to stick to this decision. If the ShizNat is the only thing that makes people read the story, then I have thoroughly failed with it. *sob* Thanks for the advice nevertheless! I understand it was given only with good intentions.**_

_**To all of you readers: Frankly, I waited to see a comment on this, but... Did nobody find it strange that Natsuki has two voices speaking in her head since... well, almost twenty chapters? And nobody commented on the fact that it was revealed not too long ago that her mom had a mental illness that is said to be inheritable. I'm just worried that I haven't been able to properly convey this little detail, so that's why I'm addressing this now. I won't say whether it's important or not, because we haven't reached the right time for it, but I was, you know... wondering. Is all. **_

_**Anyway, I'll post everything that's left by the end of March, so please look forward to the final installments! *fireworks* I apologize for all the mistakes I surely have made while writing. Not having a beta sucks, but it makes me want to improve. (whispers: while you suffer in the process, sorry)**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

"I have the feeling we've done this before. Only that it was a lot less dangerous last time."

"_And you still managed to get hurt_," Mai chided through the small bud in Nao's ear. She scowled and once again tripped, thus threatened with an unpleasant face-to-face meeting with the substance she was threading through.

_Wasn't my fault last time._

She was walking against the current, up to her knees in…

"Why am _I _the one swimming in shit?" She grumbled and wrinkled her nose in disgust. A cough came from behind her, reminding her timidly she wasn't the only one stuck with the job of infiltrating the facility through the huge drain-pipe.

"It's not only that, Nao-chan. You two should hurry up and get out of there – who knows what kind of toxic wastes are in there..."

Mai's advice really didn't help with lifting Nao's spirit.

"If I suffer from some kind of radioactive contamination after this, I'm making all of you drink from the sewers," whined Irina and yelped as something big and hairy – most likely a giant rat – swam undisturbed pass them. Nao shuddered and sniffed. She still wasn't feeling top-notch after her brief sickness, but Kuga hadn't given her much of a choice. Again.

"Hey, if you convince them tis the Fountain of youth, go for it. I'll gladly watch all of you suffer." Nao looked at the small map on the screen of her phone and started searching for the designated with a red dot spot.

"Ah! Here we go." She hurriedly made her way to the rusty ladder, followed closely by the fuming Irina.

"You really hate Kuga-senpai that much?"

"Goes without saying."

Nao stretched her hand expectantly towards the younger girl, not bothering even to meet her eyes in the darkness. Irina pushed her glasses nervously up as she rummaged through her backpack, searching.

"But you went along with this plan regardless." She dropped a little less than a handful of plastic explosive in the outstretched palm. Next she fished for the even smaller detonator.

"Yes." Nao placed the agent on what looked like a heavy lid, covering the exit up the ladder. Holding a small flashlight in her mouth, she held her breath as she set the explosive. When she set the timer, she jumped down. "See, if the face of the future that's waiting me is Smith's, rather than looking at it, I'd punch it. And have Kuga behind my back. She won't stab it, at least. If she wants to kill me, she'll have the decency to do it to my face. I think."

"I'm not sure I understand you two," Irina admitted as they waited for the small explosion to go off, still a safe distance away. "One moment you're at each other's throats and the next – you're the best team I've seen at work. And I've watched a ton of training videos and been through a lot."

_It's sick deliberately training kids to fight._

If Nao could she'd tap her foot nervously, but as luck had it she could barely keep her balance in the thick waste-waters.

"Ready," she lazily tapped her comm device.

"_I'm on schedule too. Let's bar* the bastards_," Natsuki sounded out of breath, but still pretty sure of what she was doing.

"Good thing she is," Nao mumbled and nonchalantly put her hands on her hips. "If she were late, I think we woulda been busted and the whole plan would go down the drain."

Irina stared wide-eyed at the chuckling Nao.

* * *

The casual stroll was awkward for so many reasons that it managed to bother even Natsuki. Her companion however was wearing her ever steel expression like it was any other pleasant school morning. The eyes of the tired and distressed students, as well as those of the secretly armed men and women guarding them, followed the forms of Kuga Natsuki and Miyu Greer as they advanced towards Fuuka Academy's main administrative building.

"I do not understand your line of thinking, Kuga-san," the android broke the silence, surprising Natsuki.

"With you escorting me, I was able to get inside the school. How hard's that to understand? It's Searrs now that's running the show, isn't it?"

Natsuki remembered what Shizuru and the rest had told her about the night they all had escaped while the First District and Searrs fought over the school's grounds. There was something special here, which T.N.T. had also been pursuing for some time now, but hadn't been able to get a clear lead on. With Kanzaki on their side now though…

"By using the front entrance, you have guaranteed that you'll be spotted by Tomoe Marguerite." Miyu halted. "We both know you're no match for her."

"True," Natsuki agreed with a smirk and crossed her hands. "But you are. And I'm in your custody."

The android shifted her weight and Natsuki once again admired how human she seemed.

"We had a long talk with you and Alyssa a few hours ago, didn't we? It's highly likely you two are suspected of being traitors at present. Marguerite won't do anything against you openly. At least not now that you've proven them wrong by bringing me here with you. Can we get going? We've a schedule to keep."

Miyu didn't budge from her spot.

"What's wrong, worried that Alyssa might be put in danger? Don't – she's safe with the good doctor." The gang leader started walking, but quickly stopped after she didn't hear the other following her. They were alone on the path, with no danger they would be overheard – Miyu had assured her earlier. Searrs had destroyed all surveillance during the raid and it still wasn't repaired. "What's got your robot panties in a knot, Greer?"

"You." Before Natsuki could inquire at the strange response Miyu continued. "You treat me as if I'm human. Last night you talked to the lady as if she was a normal human girl, as well. She was happy. She's never had anybody ask her what sweets she liked."

"I had to bring her something as a thank you for at least trying to get me to safety that time," Natsuki shrugged. "Even if she acts all though, she's still a snotty brat who has a peculiar robot as her only friend."

"You did it again. You assigned a human trait to me. Why?"

Natsuki sighed exasperated. She was in a hurry, but if she didn't give a satisfactory explanation, they would be stuck there all day. Her plan would be ruined.

"Because you look human and act human," Natsuki gestured at the android.

"This is simply the appearance of my platform. And you also know that I'm programmed to act human only because…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But you were also programmed to be loyal not only to Alyssa, but to Searrs as well. What you're doing right now is against your basic programming."

A bird landed on a naked branch above Miyu's head and she turned to observe it impassively.

"It may be a fault in this unit's hardware that's causing this change."

As she quietly watched the robot slowly clench and unclench her right fist Natsuki wondered whether this action was unconscious. If it was, she was observing what could be called a miracle. Searrs had outdone themselves this time, she had to grudgingly admit.

"It would be best if I discarded it and returned my full programming to the main core. That way, I will be able to serve my initial purpose."

A sense of panic started to crawl in the back of Natsuki's mind.

"What are you saying?!" she almost shouted. "Aren't you here to protect Alyssa and make sure she is living happily?"

"I am." Miyu turned and now looked at her. That stare was unnerving. "But there is a chance that I'm wrong."

"Even if that's so, would you rather throw away what you have now? By talking to you just for a bit, I could tell that you have become even _more_ human than some of us." Natsuki refrained from looking at her watch. They were running late. The sun was shining brightly, but when the chilly wind blew she tightened her jacket around her. It had rained the night before. "You are able to make your own decisions, free to do what you _want._ That counts for something, right?"

"Then answer me a question, Kuga-san."

"If it's related with the purpose of life, don't even bo-"

"Does this platform have a heart? What you humans would call a soul?"

"-ther."

Natsuki stood stunned for a moment. She was ready to say anything at this point, however if she wasn't honest, she knew that Miyu would be able to tell.

"I don't know," she breathed out with a sigh. "That's for you to decide. If I told you 'yes' would you believe me?"

"No."

"That's a sign of thinking for yourself; of having a soul. Of choosing whether to trust."

"But the paradigm of a robot…"

"Can't be applied to you!" Natsuki tapped her earpiece, expertly covered by her hair and listened to Nao and Mai bickering. "Even though I learned this only recently, I'm really glad you're the one who's guarding my only remaining family."

Miyu just stood there, her expression betraying nothing in front of her companion. Finally, though it was barely visible, she smiled.

"This unit will remain in your service, Kuga Natsuki." She was in front of the gang leader in under a second, forcing her to take a step back. "Until you threaten my lady's well-being."

"Of course," Natsuki flatly replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Once I decide to endanger Alyssa you'll be the first to know."

Something changed in Miyu's stance.

"That was a joke."

Before waiting for another barrage of questions, Natsuki urged for them to get going.

They were running when she heard Nao confirming they were doing fine for now.

"I'm on schedule too. Let's bar* the bastards."

When the two of them approached their destination, they slowed down and Miyu gripped painfully Natsuki's arm. The gang leader didn't object to the action, now more concerned that she was going unarmed against a group far more powerful than her other opponents up until now.

"You think Smith's in there?" she tried to wade off the tension she was feeling by making Miyu confirm her suspicions.

"It is not impossible." Miyu didn't drag her, but it wouldn't be bad if she handled her more gently. "Currently, I have no information on the matter. Even if I have access to Searrs' network, the data on Smith's location and movement is highly classified."

"_Sucks you can't just Google it,"_ Nao's voice rang in her ear and Natsuki almost told her to shut it before a guard approached them.

"Your presence is requested in the principal's office."

"That won't be a first," the guard glared at Natsuki as she grumbled. She and Miyu were both searched for weapons thoroughly and before the man could discover Natsuki's communication device the android pulled her inside.

It was a lot darker than Natsuki remembered it, the curtains drawn, preventing any sunlight from coming in. On any other day the gang leader would've wondered why she could make out so much of the interior despite the darkness; now she knew and didn't bother to dwell on it. They didn't speak a word all the while until they reached the office. The doors opened from the inside and they were let in by two silent girls. Natsuki felt disconcerted at their presence. Before she could put her finger on what was causing her uneasiness, she was greeted by a growl.

"You're still alive." Tomoe stepped out from the shadows her teeth grinding, as if wanting to bite her to death. "Why?"

"Cuz you suck at everything you do," Natsuki replied absent-mindedly, her attention was drawn by the other people in the room, one person in particular. She had learned all their files by heart.

Kazahana Mashiro was sitting in a wheelchair, chained by her defeated aura. The what-was-thought to be the headmistress of Fuuka Academy, Himeno Fumi was standing like a loyal retainer by the smaller girl's side, her pleasantly smiling face irritating as ever. Homura Nagi dangled his feet off the huge desk and observed the newcomers with curiosity and what seemed amusement. The last one, sitting on the desk was…

"I really screwed up if _the_ John Smith has descended from the Heavens to expel me from school."

Natsuki could barely contain her excitement. There he was, right in front of her, waiting to be disposed of, like the trash he was. Peering from behind his glasses, his blue eyes dancing with the hunger for power and control, he observed. Natsuki knew that look.

"Don't ignore me!" Tomoe shouted and strolled towards her, fists balled. If Miyu hadn't stood between them, the gang leader would've been a sorry smear on the luxurious carpet.

"Kuga Natsuki is under my custody until further notice," the android steely declared, making Marguerite step back in line. "Governor Smith, I have brought her as per requested."

"Yes, I can see that," the man replied and got to his feet. Natsuki decided that now after she had met him in person, she hated him more. Even if he was only the embodiment of the cruel system she fought against, he was still on her top 'to off' list. His receding hairline, his crooked nose, his disgusting stance, which should command authority, but all it did was make him look silly. Natsuki knew this wasn't the person she should be fighting, but his superiors; and still she wanted Searrs's top agent's head so bad.

"Now that I'm here," Natsuki thought it high time she played her next move, "could you please be as kind as to tell me why _you_ are after me, Governor?"

"But Miss Natsuki," the way her name sleazily crept out of his mouth made her suppress a retch. "I'm sure you're well aware of the reason – your mother's research."

"She was a researcher, I know that much. I don't know what that has to do with me, though."

"Playing dumb won't help your case now, Miss Natsuki."

Nagi snickered and Tomoe glared at him. He just winked playfully.

"The first and only successful product of the HiME project. We finally found you!" Nagi jumped off the desk and moved about the room, stretching his legs. This made the two girls guarding the doors step forward and the wooden floor creaked loudly under their feet. "Mashiro-chan, you really need to fix this old parquet."

Sudden realization hit Natsuki and she sneakily glanced at the two guards. As expected, their expressions were identical, even if their overall appearance was different.

"You're now mass producing them?" she inquired no one in particular, but it was Nagi who answered her.

"Yep, they are, though none of them are on par with the first and original Miyu. All of the products after her are called SENYU**," he happily explained. "It may be that we are on different sides, but I still salute Searrs for this success. Well, it could've been much better if they knew of your existence, or rather who the First was. The fact that you're a key player in T.N.T. is only a sweet bonus."

Natsuki said nothing, choosing to glare defiantly at the white-haired boy instead. What could she say?

"But now we do and you are in our custody, Miss Natsuki."

"How did you figure this out _now_?" This time she couldn't help but ask.

_It can't be something on Tomoe's part. I doubt she has even told them about why she hates me to the point of obsession. Question is who betrayed me. All of the people who could've done it are either dead, or on my side. _

_**All except for one.**_

"I don't see why keep this a secret," Smith put his hands behind his back and smirked. "We were contacted by a group called _The King's Men_. They sent us solid proof that you were indeed the person we've all been looking for the past ten years. The irony that you were in the middle of the conflict all this time!"

She somehow knew all of this before he had said it. The thing she was feeling now, after hearing it confirmed was… not betrayal. Not sadness, disappointment, or betrayal. It was relief. The number of the players wasn't changed. She was relieved that the next time she had the chance she wouldn't let her father get away because of some lingering sense of family bonds. Not with what he had done to her and her friends. She wouldn't hesitate, trying to convince herself it was a mistake. This time it was confirmed and it didn't seem like Smith was lying either.

Being right lately hadn't brought her the fulfilment it used to. It just threw further evidence into her face that her world was more cruel than forgiving.

_**You made it this way yourself.**_

_Not without some help from every power-hungry fucker out there. _

"See," she turned to sneer at Tomoe, "wouldn't have been nice had you killed me."

_He said nothing about Alyssa. Smart man. I'm the first successful experiment, surely, but after they made the little blondie, they shouldn't need me. That's curious. If I'm not wanted for my value as a test subject, what do they want with me? Could… could something be wrong with-? _

She certainly hoped not – if the little girl had lied to her about something so important, that would inconvenient them all.

However, it was time; she had to put off her revenge for now and put the game into motion.

"But I must admit, I'm surprised how far you're willing to go just to get your sleazy paws on mother's research."

Miyu turned towards her, showing that she understood it was time for her to act. They hadn't planned for the complication of the other two androids, but Natsuki judged by the response from Miyu that she had thought up something.

* * *

"_What do you think, will it work?"_

"_Of course it will! I'll be orchestrating it, so no worries. I just need you to give me intel."_

"_Anything specific you would like to know?"_

"_Where they're keeping my friends for starters. After that use Greer's link to the Searrs server and get me everything important that's happened the past two weeks. Agents' currently assigned positions, a head count, where the leading officers are, latest technology and ways to counter it. Everything. We'll go with making up a plan after we've all we need. Shouldn't take long, right?"_

"_No, but they'll suspect something. We can't hide forever the fact that we're working together. I don't have the authority to protect you."_

"_You control a destructive force and are accustomed to using it, which in my rules spells that we've plenty of time. I'll do the protection, kiddo, so don't worry your pretty blonde head with the details."_

"_You're patronizing me again! And you didn't have to bring me candy!"_

"_Hey, you won't cry now, will you?"_

"…"

"_As I said, I won't screw up again. I'll get you what you want, just lend me your power for a bit."_

"_Even if it's that of a little girl, as you've put it?"_

"_I'm not that old myself. Tell you what: when we're done with taking over the world I'll take you out to eat something. Whatever you want, it's my treat."_

"_Don't jinx it. But I'll take you up on that offer."_

"_Talk to you two later."_

* * *

As per her plan, an explosion went off and the building shook.

"What was that?" Smith demandingly glared at Tomoe, who in turn repeated the action with Natsuki. The latter shrugged and waited for further reaction on behalf of the others. The people from the First District remained silent, except for Nagi who clapped his hands.

"An enemy attack? How exciting!"

There was a knock. "Sir!"

Smith went for the door in a rapid step.

"Miyu, escort Miss Natsuki to the main laboratory. I'll be waiting for you there. Bring young Miss Alyssa as well. Shake off pursuers on the way, if any. Marguerite, you and the two androids are to remain here and guard the ladies and gentleman until instructed otherwise."

He disappeared behind the heavy door not before sparing Natsuki and his other captives one last glance.

"This explosion reeks of your stench, Kuga-san," Tomoe bore her grey eyes in Natsuki's mocking ones. "I just know it."

"Pray tell, how could I plant an explosive when I was with Greer all along?" Natsuki silently studied the interior, her mind racing in calculations and possible patterns of action. What was Miyu waiting for? It was true that there were two androids waiting at the door, but…

Natsuki heard a click. The sound of a collapsing heap of metal followed. She spun on her heels and she saw the two robots completely intact and immobile on the floor. Except that their eyes were still open and shining with an eerie light-green.

"Greer, what-?" she began, but Miyu was in a similar state. Her robotic voice though resounded in her ear.

"_Kuga-san, I've hacked the androids and have rendered them non-functional for the time being."_

_So she's basically playing dead in order to avoid suspicion._

_**Good robot. Stay.**_

"What did you do?" Tomoe growled at Natsuki at once and threw her body at her. The gang leader managed to side-step just before the painful collision could come. Tomoe sharply turned towards her, fist at the ready. "What did you do to them?"

"Nothing, idiot! It's not my fault Smith's sex toys broke!"

Playing dumb was becoming a far too frequent type of behaviour for her in the past few weeks. She hoped she could avoid it in the future, hating the feeling of not being in control of the situation.

"Well, Mr Smith won't mind if you're a little banged and bruised when you're delivered." Tomoe took a step towards Natsuki, making her take one towards the door. "I'll tell him it was a rough ride to the lab."

Just as Natsuki noticed the movement behind Marguerite, the girl once again jumped at her. This time the Ice Princess narrowed her eyes and didn't step aside. Instead, she let Tomoe's hand fly past her face and with all of her speed connected her open palm with her opponent's chin. Tomoe's head snapped back and she staggered away from the gang leader only for a heavy tome to connect with her head with a sickening crunch. Natsuki winced.

Tomoe's surprised stormy eyes rolled back and she heavily fell on the floor, Himeno Fumi holding up the huge register in victory.

_Bitch should've reinforced her whole body if she wants to play with the big girls._

"That fool had it coming," Mashiro spoke for the first time, her quiet words laced with distaste, probably directed towards Tomoe. "I wish I could've done it myself."

"This isn't what a sweetie in a wheelchair should be saying," Nagi chirped and grabbed the chair's handles. "Are we escaping or just waiting for more agents to storm in?"

Natsuki ignored him and instead inspected the two fallen androids. Miyu moved from behind her, forcing a sharp intake of breath from Himeno.

"So you're not useless after all." Miyu's observation made Natsuki chuckle, not sure towards whom that comment had been directed at. She stood up.

"Let's get out of here. Try to stay hidden, Greer. It won't do us any good if they saw us together after your sweet act." She turned towards Nagi and the two women. "I trust your age and wisdom will be enough to make you keep your mouths shut about this. And… I'm not doing this for free. Nagi, contact Kanzaki."

The boy didn't show if he was displeased with Natsuki ordering him around and lifted a pale brow without saying anything. He nodded his head at long last.

"Don't worry, I'm sure at least Fumi-san here will do nothing," he chuckled. "She's very good at it and also likes to call it thinking."

The deputy Headmistress sent him a reproachful look.

"We are sick of those games of power, Kuga-san," Kazahana Mashiro sighed and gave her an exhausted smile. "For the time being we will stay hidden and play no role in this conflict. Until our help is needed, of course. But know this: should you lose, it's not just your life you're forfeiting."

* * *

"_The basement… Seriously?"_

"_Yes. My information is that they are being held in the basement floors of the new administrative building."_

"_Well, in that case why don't we blast our way up like last time, Kuga?"_

"_I like your way of thinking."_

"_Right? I bet that the Golden Era, or Searrs, or whatever they like to be called are just sitting on their fat asses thinking 'There's no way they'll try the sewers thing twice!'"_

"_Yeah. This time we'll play it double, though. Nao, you'll be in charge of…"_

"_Don't you finish that sentence!"_

"_I'm not asking."_

"… _Fine."_

* * *

Shizuru sat leisurely in the shadows of her old student council office, watching the rumpus in front of the new administrative building with calm, bordering with slight amusement. The van they had stolen earlier was now blazing with flames so high that the agents were scared to approach it and put the fire out. The vehicle had been hooked to a simple device, which was in return connected to a remote controlling server, namely one Miyu Greer.

The President was curious as to why Natsuki relied so heavily on the android now, but she attributed it to the fact that her lover was finally feeling the pressure and was becoming desperate in her plans.

_Which doesn't mean they will be any less successful; just a bit rougher around the edges and somewhat more destructive._

She vaguely wondered if she and her team had already been spotted, however she highly doubted it. The entrance they used was known only to a selected few and none of them were on the academy's grounds, or at least weren't in the enemy camp.

After the small hostage escapade a few months back the old faculty building was abandoned, a huge hole gaping in the floor from where T.N.T. had infiltrated. Shizuru had made sure that the cosmetic repairs on the old boiler room were ran by Suzushiro Daikigyo, which was not only Haruka father's company, but also one of the daughter companies of the old Fujiwara Inc., now better known as Fujino Group. Meaning that the repairs were supervised by Shizuru personally and nobody else, which enabled her to leave an 'emergency' exit or as it was today's case – entrance. The only guards were outside the front doors, unaware of her or her accomplices' presence.

"_Kruger en route!"_ Natsuki announced, the static and the ruckus from the shouts in the background making it hard to make out what she said next.

"Repeat." Shizuru pressed her finger on her communicator. The agents had finally gotten the fire of the crashed in the wall burning van. They seemed to have noticed it had been loaded with a small amount of explosives. Shizuru sighed; it seemed that with this last stunt went T.N.T.'s last reserves.

Only static answered her earlier request and she squinted towards the other building, trying to see if the Searrs soldiers had realised what this was all about.

"We've got the rooms secured and the route covered up." Reito slid in a seat beside her. "Do you think we've been spotted?"

"If somebody's keeping tabs on this building it would be Okuzaki-han. The fact she hasn't made a move leads me to think that she is occupied elsewhere." The President glanced at her watch. "Where's Mai-han?"

"Waiting at the exit, preparing to intercept the others. We should be hearing from her any time…"

"_They're here!"_

* * *

"When I saw Natsuki-kun together with Greer-san standing in the light of our confinement room I was more surprised, compared to witnessing the explosion that came from the corridor, just from under the stunned agent's feet!" Chie quietly laughed and gratefully accepted a bottle of water, offered to her by a covered in concrete dust Nao. "And when Nao-kun's ashen face poked from that hole, I thought everybody would scream their heads off."

"Stupid princesses," Nao mumbled, slumping on the floor. "I was even more shocked when that bastard nearly fell on top of me!"

She remembered a sudden splash from beside her and when she had turned, the man was already getting up. She had shot him without a second thought.

"It'd be better if you stayed quiet. We still don't know if the threat's passed," Mai silently scolded the excited informant. Aoi smiled apologetically in her friend's stead. Her ankle was being carefully wrapped in a bandage.

Nao didn't bother to ask any of them how they were. Despite their happy expressions, they were all tired. Mai was carefully tending over Aoi who was waving her off and Chie was watching them with a grin. Irina, Arika and Nina were silently greeting each other, which according to Nao was a marvel, keeping Arika's nature in mind. Kazuya was slumped in a near corner, looking way more beaten and worn out than the others, but he had refused help earlier. And Haruka was having her mouth shut by both Yukino's palms as the Head Executive was trying to demand an explanation from the two leaders of the student council. Reito was smiling, his hand ruffling his little sister's messy black hair and Shizuru was promptly ignoring her self-proclaimed rival's actions, as always.

"The others are probably at Searrs's main lab." Natsuki had apologised before she left with Miyu for Searrs's main lab. "These seven were the only ones down there."

The group was still in the old faculty building, the secret entrance barred, ensuring the pursuers wouldn't suspect they were up here. Still, they were cooped in this building, waiting for the green light from the other part of their small force. Nao heard the familiar sound of furious typing on a keyboard. Given that they had brought her computer, Chie was wasting no time in getting up to speed.

"Hallard, online!" She pumped her fist but slammed her hand against her mouth after the look Mai and Shizuru sent her.

"_Report,"_ Natsuki's voice buzzed from the other side of their comms. All of the present had received one upon securing their current position.

"All communication green. Recovery of all networks complete." Chie's fingers were flying over her keyboard, a pianist playing her masterpiece. "Awaiting instructions."

"_News feed."_

"How fast and vast do you want it?" the informant smirked.

"_As big as your mouth and I want it yesterday. Get on it!"_

"Rightio!"

"_Use the upload code Viola will give you."_

Nao mentally face-palmed at Kuga's naming sense. _The master strikes again._

Shizuru kneeled next to Chie and made an input of what sounded like a long series of letters and numbers. Nao wondered if the girl was given a hard time with memorizing the sequence.

"Ready." Chie triumphantly wiggled her fingers in the air.

"_Keep up the good work." _Natsuki's praise made more than one brow rise. _"Kruger, out."_

Silence followed. Then Arika glanced at Shizuru inconspicuously, or what, perhaps, she thought was inconspicuously, or then again, what she might have maybe thought was inconspicuously, had she known that there was a word like inconspicuously.

"President," she fiddled with her fingers as Shizuru regarded her with what Nao had come to recognize as her fake smile. "What are we going to do now? I mean, Nina-chan and I were labelled as traitors and interrogated a few times. But we didn't say anything about T.N.T., I swear it! We've been trained to endure and… and seeing that Kuga-senpai was right about us being shunned, we decided to cooperate with her gang. It's just that… just that…"

"You're lost, I understand," Shizuru's smile didn't waver. "I am truly grateful that you chose to keep to yourselves T.N.T.'s secrets. This will help you in your current predicament, I'm sure. However, right at the moment we can only sit and wait. Success comes to those with patience."

"And now that Buddha has granted you some divine knowledge, I'll let you on another piece of wisdom: shut your mouth and rest while you can."

"Even if I'm tired," Arika heatedly whispered, aware she shouldn't shout yet, "I was trained so that I can deal a lot of damage!"

"Oh, please, Yumemiya!" Nao responded in the same tone and rolled her eyes. "In your current state, you couldn't tear a wet tissue paper."

* * *

*To bar means to prevent a player from making a _bid_, either by a penalty caused by an irregularity, or because partnership agreement requires a _pass_ in a given situation. In either case, the player is said to be "barred."

**Let me explain why I chose to name the new androids SENYU. Out of pure curiosity some time ago I dug out all of the name of the characters in Mai-HiME in Japanese (cuz I'm a succer for kanji). The 'mi' in Miyu was written with the kanji (heiroglyph) for 'deep, profound', so I made a silly play of words and substitudet the 'mi' with a 'sen' (shallow, superficial) to create the new name for the androids that were produced after MIYU. I know that MIYU means something else in both HiME and Otome, but I allowed myself a little bit of freedom this time.


	31. Chapter 31

_**A/N: Too soon? Nah, I don't think so. I'll be posting a chapter every Monday and Thursday till the 25th of March. After that it's 'Japan, here I come!', so don't expect anything from me in the up-coming months. **_

_**A little bit about this installment and the next ones. Just to be safe, I'd like to warn you that the story might balance on the rope between the T and M-rating, so if you're easily offended... Ah, whatever. I won't feel guilty if there are mentally-scarred readers. There's nothing too explict, after all. Also, this chappie and the next two will be very action-heavy and if there's anything you don't understand, ask. I'll try to explain and review what I've written, and make a slight change, if possible.**_

_**In reply to all of your reviews: THANK YOU. I always need the insight you guys provide - different points of view help me look at what I've written from another perspective. And thanks to DezoPenguin's original abbreviation for the SENYU - I might use it in the future, if it's okay. **_

_**This time there's another matter I'd like your oppinion on. As I'm somewhat (ahem) free at the moment, I want to ask whether you'd like to see a one-shot related to this AU-universe. Also, if you do, what kind of one-shot: before, during or after the end? Or maybe all three at once? It may be too early for this question, but I'd like to prepare appropriately. Because... when I wrote the final chapter, and especially the last few sentences... Well, I thought I might write something more T.N.T.-related, but if there's no-one interested, I'll leave this be. **_

_**Also, sorry for the mistakes! I hope they don't cause any headaches, nausea, nose-bleeds, heart-attacks, brain damage, deep depression, bruises, damaged vocal chords, etc.**_

_**That'd be all for now. Till next week!**_

** Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

Natsuki and Miyu's performance resumed after they both exited the building, the former now having a pair of handcuffs around her wrists and the latter pushing her towards one of the dark cars the agents on duty were assigned to guard. The door of one of the vehicles was opened and revealed Alyssa calmly waiting for them in the front seat, next to the driver.

Without having a chance to say or do anything, Natsuki was unceremoniously thrown on the backseat, Miyu taking the spot beside her. They were off the moment the android pulled the door shut. Natsuki grumbled at the rough way she was handled, but didn't dare say anything more in front of the driver. She studied him as he removed his sunglasses when they exited the academy's grounds; he greeted her with a knowing red look.

"You switch sides quickly, Yamada. Do they pay more than I do?"

The man chuckled and said nothing. Instead, Alyssa turned around towards them and regarded her beloved caretaker and newly found sister with a faint smile.

"It's a long ride to the main lab facilities, I suggest you rest."

"Yeah, good point. Thanks for the pick-up. Feel free to stall our arrival some more – we'll say we were being followed." Natsuki rattled with her cuffs, but didn't ask Miyu to take them off. She relaxed a bit and closed her eyes.

"Good work, Miyu."

She could hear the genuine smile in Alyssa's voice and she barely suppressed one of her own. Maybe, just maybe, when all of this was over and things were calm enough they would be able to start anew. Get to know each other better, build a bond, restore their family. For just awhile she allowed herself to imagine what their life could be, if they all survived. She would spend more time with Shizuru, Mai, Alyssa and the others and would try to have a normal high-school life. She could hang out with Nao even, if they were too bored with their lessons.

But that wasn't going to happen. Because if she survived, she would continue to play her dangerous games until the city was clear of the gangs. _Now_ she knew exactly who she was going to put in power after Smith and Searrs were done away with. And when the new leaders got too greedy she would have to deal with them too, even if she trusted them now. They were only a temporary answer – Fuuka's hope for a different kind of life. It was a desperate play on her part to put so much power in those people's hands, but she would deal with them when the time came. It was essential to get Searrs out of Fuuka. And if she could control the events to come, then maybe she was going to live long enough to see her goals fulfilled.

The sound of the car tires had a calming effect on Natsuki, even though she wasn't a big fan of riding on anything else besides her bike. She didn't have to open her eyes to know that they were taking the road leading to the woods.

"Greer, did you send the coordinates to Hallard?"

"Affirmative. I used the data channel code I was sent tenty-three minutes ago," Miyu quickly replied and Natsuki lazily glanced at her, then turned to look at the passing trees. They were trembling in the wind, with their multi-coloured crowns getting thinner and thinner with the approach of winter. It was an insidious weather, the Ice Princess mused; the sun was shining brightly, without a single cloud in the skies, but the piercing cold was there. She wondered when they would reach their destination and the heavy fighting would commence.

As if reading her mind, the android answered her unspoken question. "We have about fifteen to twenty minutes until we reach the facilities."

"Good, good."

"You won't be able to use your communication device once we've entered. I would suggest you contact your accomplices."

"Hmm," Natsuki mumbled and tapped the comm in her ear. Thanks to being with Miyu earlier, she had kept it on her person. "Kruger here. Zhang, respond."

"_Zhang here. Comms are five-by."_ Nao's voice resounded clearly through the small bud. _"Awaiting instructions."_

"Ask Hallard to switch us to a private channel."

Natsuki knew for sure that during the silence that followed glances were exchanged, breaths were held in and bewilderment had substituted air. 'Why would the gang leader want to talk privately with Nao of all people?' was the million-dollar question that worked them up.

"Zhang? Is there static?" She knew there wasn't. "Do I need to repeat?"

"_N-no, it's a ten-four, Kruger. Just a sec."_

She waited and hoped Shizuru and Mai weren't too mad with her.

"_Do you realize that you've just sentenced me to death?"_ Nao's snarky tone was somewhat reassuring and was very welcomed.

"This line isn't secured, but nobody has used this frequency since forever, cuz it's crap. It can fall apart any time now. I'll allow myself to speak freely."

"_No secret codes? Is that really you?" _

"Listen. Whatever happens, you take care of the others."

"_Wait, wait! What are you-?"_

"Shut up and listen!" Natsuki bit her lip, while staring at her feet, not wanting to meet the questioning look Alysssa was giving her. "Make sure that there are no traces of what we used to do and make Hallard and Viola forge the dossiers of everybody involved. If things go well, I'll have other business to tend to."

"_Kruger, what's all this about? We'll come and pick you up when we receive the signal."_

"Yes, and not a moment too soon. The others will want to disembark earlier than the signal, but _you_ must keep them at bay. Except for the Prince – he's a different story. Got it? Sh-Viola and the rest _mustn't _leave until you've received the command!"

"…"

"You're the only one I can trust on this!" Natsuki desperately fought the desire to scream she wanted to take back all she said. "Please!"

She wanted for them to come, to help her, to be her friends when she needed them most by her side. But that would mean more sacrifices and she wasn't putting them on the line, even if…

_I'm scared. _

_**So you really don't want to die.**_

"_I… I understand. I hate you. Take care. Zhang, out."_

"Kruger, out." The gang leader pulled the comm device out of her ear, dropped it on the floor and crushed it with her foot until it was only dust. She looked up at Miyu. "You'll be in charge of sending the signal, got it?"

"N-Natsuki?" Alyssa ventured to call her by her given name and was answered with a grunt, prompting her to continue. "You're going in alone, aren't you? The others at the academy…"

"They will come when the time is right." Natsuki leaned forward and extended her cuffed hands to pat Alyssa on the head. "I told you not to worry – I've got it all planned out."

"That's hardly likely." The blonde girl did poorly in hiding her pout. "You don't know what you're getting into. Neither do Miyu and I. You'll be fumbling in the dark – there's no chance…"

"There's always a chance," Natsuki interrupted once again, deepening Alyssa's scowl. "And if there's a chance for the impossible to happen, I'll make it possible. A way always exists. You may have to jump to reach and climb onto it, but it's there. I'll say it again: don't worry. Greer is enough to handle an entire army."

Alyssa fell silent after sparing the two on the backseat a calculating glance with a seriousness not becoming of a child. It tore at Natsuki that so many children were made into adults for the sake of experiments in the name of power; as if the accidents that occurred daily didn't leave enough orphans.

Suddenly the car came to a halt and Yamada put on his simple disguise. The ground around them shook slightly and they started descending. The hidden platform lowered them below the forest and road into an underground path. It was well-lit and had room for one vehicle to pass at a time. As soon as the platform stopped, they slowly proceeded, their car followed by the numerous cameras. Natsuki was completely silent, trying to absorb all of it.

They came to a halt in front of an elevator door on their right; there were no guards in sight. Wordlessly the three girls got out of the vehicle and Yamada drove off down the narrow path. Alyssa was lifted up by Miyu and she put her small palm on the scanner serving as a call button. The doors swished open and they stepped inside a glass box, which started descending without them doing anything. Alyssa seemed alarmed and stepped closer to Miyu. Natsuki shifted her weight and waited.

The elevator passed the floors slowly, the three of them being able to see everything clearly, since the lift-shaft was made of what Natsuki assumed was one-way glass. The people she saw in the corridors didn't seem to pay any attention to their arrival, consumed in discussing data and hurrying from one room to another. They had just passed the fifth underground floor when the lights flickered and the elevator screeched to a halt.

Miyu quickly fumbled with Natsuki's hand-cuffs and soon the girl was free, rubbing her wrists. The android was already working on the elevator's shaft door.

"I've hacked the internal system," Miyu announced as she helped Alyssa climb up. She heaved herself up and extended her arm to pull up Natsuki on top of the elevator. Green eyes looked expectantly at the android's eerily pink orbs, which were giving off an even stranger glint in the dim light. "The cameras are shown a fake recording."

"What rcording?"

"There's no time to explain."

Natsuki gulped. _What terrifying power! Who gave such a weapon to a little girl? What's the reason behind it?!_

"We have about five to six minutes to reach the top floor where your friends are being held," as Miyu explained, she picked Alyssa up and put her on her back. "Hold on tight, young lady."

Alyssa nodded resolutely and she clenched her little fists tighter around the fabric at the front of Miyu's school blazer. After closing the shaft door, Natsuki crossed her hands and looked up.

"No matter how I look at it, it's a very long way u-wah!"

Miyu grabbed her around the waist with one hand like a sack of potatoes and started bouncing off the walls towards the upper floors. Natsuki's heart climbed in her throat and she couldn't scream or let alone utter a much needed curse. She vaguely wondered during the rapid ascent whether the people could hear the deafening noise of the android's sturdy legs connecting to the walls or see the small cracks that appeared.

Suddenly Natsuki heard rapid clicking and could barely believe her eyes when Miyu's hand transformed into a Gatling gun, which opened fire at the ceiling. Before she could cover her head with her hands to protect herself from the falling debris, Natsuki felt she was thrown towards the gaping hole. She realised, while soundlessly waving her arms, that Miyu had thrown her up just to be able to cover Alyssa properly. Still, even if she agreed with the reasons behind the action, the impact with the ceiling and then with the floor (too) soon after hurt like hell.

It wasn't until Miyu landed safely next to her and let Alyssa on the ground, that the ringing in her ears stopped. The android threw a flashlight in front of Natsuki's face. She was still sprawled on the dusty floor, only glaring at her accomplice.

The gang leader shakily stood up and dusted off her messy clothes. "So nice of you to warn me beforehand, Greer."

"We've got four minutes," Miyu announced, her face now more clearly visible because of the flashlight Natsuki had turned on. "Before you ask, this floor was abandoned ten years ago due to fire. It's empty now and sealed off."

They resolutely made their way forward, Miyu leading the way.

"Just a thought, but… Do you think they will notice the big hole in the ceiling?"

"After three minutes and twenty-five seconds they will."

Alyssa tripped over an uneven part of the floor, but Natsuki grabbed her hand without thinking and lifted her up with her free arm. She didn't realise what she'd done until after Miyu sent her a glare. The smaller girl though, wrapped her arms tighter around her neck.

"I don't want to be annoying or anything, but how're we going to the lower floor if this one is sealed?" She heard the familiar sound of Miyu's arm transforming. "Ah, I see."

The air was filled with another barrage of shooting and Natsuki turned away to shield Alyssa from the dust and small parts of the floor that bounced back. When the shooting was done, with the dust still settling, there gaped another hole at their feet.

"Well, I guess I won't have to worry about them sounding the alarm after seeing we're not in the elevator. Isn't there a fire-exit of some sorts? With, you know, stairs?"

"There is. On the level below us."

Natsuki shrugged and put Alyssa down so she could lean forward and take a peek through the hole. What she saw was the white tiled floor and some rubble on the ground. Next thing she felt was a foot on her back and a push she just couldn't refuse.

_This is becoming an unhealthy habit on her part._

Natsuki coughed and stared angrily towards the empty hole above her. It was a good thing she had twisted her body during the fall and had fell on her back, which resulted in much less damage, had she done nothing. She heard the clicking of gun safeties being removed and Alyssa quietly scolding Miyu in the background. If she didn't know the two were there, she wouldn't have heard them. But now it was more important to convince the agents not to shoot her.

_**Two on the left and three on the right. Somebody's out of luck today.**_

She regarded the expressionless men and women wearily from her lying position and stood up very slowly, her hands lifted in front of her.

_How the hell am I supposed to explain this?!_

There were a bunch of surprised researchers behind the small fighting force, looking at her wide-eyed, still not sure what had happened.

"Don't shoot."

Miyu dropped from the ceiling in a crouch, holding her lady close to her. The weapons were lowered, but the men didn't seem convinced it was for the best.

"What is the meaning of this, android?" One of them stepped forward, while another reported to their superiors the situation through his device.

"Take me to John Smith," Alyssa demanded. "This is a matter I wish to discuss personally with him."

"Like I asked-"

"I said," the girl was obviously getting agitated. "Take me to Mr Smith. We have permission to start the tests immediately. You can ask the scientists, if you'd like."

The agents turned towards one of the personnel wearing a white coat with a name-tag with a 'Dr' in front of the family name. The young man nodded.

"Yes, we were expecting Kuga Natsuki, though not in such a matter." He gestured towards the destruction in the middle of the corridor.

"This was caused because of negligence on my part." This time it was Miyu who explained. Natsuki's confused eyes shifted from Alyssa to the android. "She had unexpected accomplices, whom we didn't expect."

"What are you doing?" Natsuki blurted out, not caring if she was about to put herself in a bigger mess. "Stop!"

"The people she's working with are very powerful and influential." Miyu threw her a glance, which was unreadable, but Natsuki didn't protest further. However, all of this _wasn't _part of the plan they had agreed upon.

_**What plan? You barged in here on nothing but a 'it's gonna turn alright somehow'. **_

She had put herself entirely in Miyu and Alyssa's mercy out of desperation.

"This is why I want to talk to Mr Smith immediately. I'm sure he's still unaware of this new danger!" Natsuki silently admired Alyssa's acting skills and gulped. If it was indeed an act.

But the agents seemed to buy it and two of them offered to escort Alyssa. "Mr Smith is down at the MIYU core."

As she watched the little girl being taken away, Natsuki was pulled up and ushered down the corridor, three guards and some of the staff following. The young researcher, who had spoken earlier, was walking in the front, leading the way to a door with no number or indication on it. He turned around.

"I must ask all of you to leave, except for my team and the MIYU."

The ones who ended up entering were the doctor, three assistants, Miyu and Natsuki herself. First they went some sort of disinfection process, each of them passing through a small glass cabin and being sprayed with some sort of harmless to humans chemical. Natsuki instinctively squinted and sneezed from the strange smell. As soon as she stepped out of the cabin, she was forcefully stripped to the skin and was given a white gown to pull on. She didn't even have the strength to protest. The adrenaline rush from earlier was fading and the pain she had endured the past days was starting to return, with the back-up of her new bruises.

The final room was pure white, blindingly so. It had a surgical table surrounded by a variety of unfamiliar infernal machinery and medical equipment. On the right there was a door and a one-way glass window. One of the assistants went into the room, while the three remaining researchers strapped Natsuki to the surgical table.

Driven by a sudden and uncontrollable fear, she started struggling, but with a bit of force from Miyu, she was safely rendered helpless. Her heart was pounding in her ears, while she desperately tried to find a way to escape. All of her efforts were useless and it soon sunk in her. She was either betrayed, or Alyssa and Miyu had pulled off an amazing act, fooling her to believe she was beyond saving.

_Calm down. You asked them to trust you, now you must trust them. Remember what Shizuru told you._

"With this experiment we'll finally be able to understand why out of so many projects only two survived," the doctor hummed excitedly as he adjusted something on a piece of equipment next to Natsuki's head. She gritted her teeth.

_**But look where you're lying now.**_

_There must be some sort of explanation for this!_

"Yes, and only one of them truly successful," interjected one of the assistants, carefully studying the gang leader.

"What do you mean?" Natsuki couldn't believe how calm and foreign her own voice sounded. Miyu looked down at her, blank as ever.

"From her creation, lady Alyssa has been terminally ill. You might as well be our only lead to find out why and cure her."

_**Here's your explanation. You **_**have**_** been betrayed: face it!**_

Natsuki screamed in her head.

"However, we don't know how far we'll have to go with examining your body," the doctor thoughtfully circled around the table and continued fumbling with the equipment.

"So in other words, I might die in the process," Natsuki rasped out, her hands and feet getting cold. She had never felt so trapped. Her encounter with Tomoe was nothing compared to the feeling of utter helplessness she was now drowning in.

"We have to carefully examine every reaction your body has to different forms of physical and psychological interference," he paused for a bit. "That includes death too, I'm afraid."

_Not as afraid as me._

"Hah. Damn."

Natsuki dared to look at Miyu, who was now headed for the door next to the one-way window. She disappeared without a second glance. If that was part of some plan, she disapproved of it. Then she felt that her arm was being hooked to one of the machines and when she attempted to move, one of the assistants put a hand on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't suggest that. The pain will only increase."

"So I guess that I won't be getting painkillers?"

Nobody answered her. The researchers exchanged a look and nodded. Miyu re-entered just as Natsuki heard a crackle and readied herself; if that was possible at all.

The pain didn't come. Instead, the researchers were lying unconscious on the ground.

"For a second there I thought you were gonna let them dissect me." Natsuki watched as Miyu unfastened her binds and roughly pulled at the device hooked to her arm. A sudden jolt of electricity jolted through her and she let out a scream. After the pain passed, she glared angrily at the android.

"I considered the possibility. Do you have strong feelings against losing a part of your brain?"

"Not funny, Miyu!" Natsuki had had it with being abused by that robo-girl. Even she wasn't that violent when it came to her accomplices, albeit she didn't like all of them.

"I will update my programming to be able to make decent jokes, then."

"Why?"

Natsuki started taking off the clothes off the lone woman assistant. They weren't her size, but at least she was wearing what looked like the standard uniform for all Searrs personnel: a shirt, a pair of loose pants and a lab coat. And they were clean and had a pass attached to them.

"Last night when you talked to the lady she seemed happy. I can only attribute it to a joke you said."

"No."

_Kid was happy because I told her I'll keep her away from those labs. And I'm the only living human that's even remotely close to being her family. _My_ jokes can't make a little girl laugh._

"It wasn't because of a joke."

"What was it?"

"You've some learning to do about human emotions, Greer. Get ready for some complicated shit."

Natsuki felt silly in this attire, but it was easy to run around with and it almost fit her. She adjusted a white surgical mask on her face and tucked her distinguishing hair under the coat.

"I bet I look like a rapist." She took the pass to open the door with it.

"White is an unusual colour for…"

"I know!" Natsuki froze in her place. "Why let me walk when an efficient experiment on me would help with curing Alyssa?"

"The lady asked me to."

"Much obliged for not telling me in advance," Natsuki grumbled, trying to pull herself together after hearing that the little girl's life depended on her, now more than ever.

"They needed to be fooled, was what the lady said. She was afraid you wouldn't react the way she wanted if you were told beforehand."

"You could've asked nicely, you know. I would've helped."

"Yes, but we would've needed the data on the computer in the next room. Since it isn't connected to a network, a distance hack wouldn't have worked. I needed to connect directly to it in order to execute a successful download."

"And did you get the info?"

"Affirmative."

"Let's go save my friends then."

* * *

Nao sat quietly with Shizuru, both of them observing the situation outside. The freshman snuck a glance at the elder girl and noted that it was the first time she had seen her so gravely serious. She returned to her duty, which was to keep an eye out for a slightest sign of change in the Searrs agents' movement and actions.

The pursuit group had long passed their location and they were safe for the moment. Chie had hacked into Fuuka Academy's local observation server thanks to Miyu Greer's instructions and was going to inform them if there was anything suspicious or important going on in the campus.

"Yuuki-han," Shizuru spoke so softly, Nao barely heard her. "Did she mention when or how she would contact us?"

"No, we're to sit on our asses. We'll know when the time's right. Besides, we can't escape through the way we got in – it's most likely guarded at the moment." Nao inspected her nails with scrutiny and sighed when she realized she hadn't brought her file. Now she couldn't take her mind off the helplessness she was feeling by being stranded on stand-by duty.

"But Reito-han has already-," Shizuru made to get up when Nao reached out, grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

"Fujino, sit tight," it was foreign to her to give commands, especially when she wasn't feeling in charge the least bit. "He's a different story."

Shizuru gently tugged her arm free (Nao secretly admired the fluid motion executed with a well-hidden strength) and settled into a tense position. Nao recognized the anxiety, although the student council president managed to conceal it well.

"Look, Fujino. She'll be alright. She won't screw up now. When we meet up, she'll smirk and say something, which she thinks sounds cool. Tokiha will probably slap her for being a stubborn idiot, she and I'll bicker, and everybody will smile. She'll come to you and then… well, you know better than I do."

"I can't believe you're the one saying all that." Shizuru turned towards Nao for a second before looking away through the window. "Now I'll need to thank you."

"Forget it. And I'll forget I ever felt sorry for you."

"Ah, yes. That would make us even. But before that, I want to make sure you know something."

Nao's ears perked. "Yeah?"

"She thinks highly of you, even if she won't say it herself. And she believes in you, which makes me want to believe in you, too." A playful smile crept on the President's lips. "Though not too much. Be very careful, Yuuki-han."

"Sure, Fujino, sure."

"Shizuru-san, Nao-chan!" Mai's whisper was heard from the doorway. They both turned towards her. "There's been a report on a massive break-out in the main Searrs lab facilities! She did it!"

Nao quickly turned around and intently stared at the Searrs agents that were now boarding the vehicles and were leaving the campus with screeching tires. Only a handful was going to remain here. So this was Natsuki's plan – to draw all the agents to the facilities, so the rest of T.N.T. could escape and meet up with her for the last assault.

"Get ready to head out!"

"You mean to tell me that they're mobilizing almost all of their troops just to capture Natsuki?"

"That'd be my best guess, yeah."

"And she's fighting all by herself?!"

"No, most likely with everyone there's to fight," Shizuru sighed.

"Hey, don't forget she has the android chick with her. That stands for something. Now let's go!"

* * *

"What are those sick bastards thinking?!"

Natsuki felt her eyes brimming with tears as she watched one of her gang members strapped to a chair, his eyes kept open by pegs on a metal frame around his head. Two metallic tubes were sticking out of his mouth, all of his limbs hooked to a number of beeping machines. His voice could be heard from a pair of speakers, but his lips weren't moving in the slightest.

"Make it stop… Make it stop…"

Natsuki's hand trembled and she pressed the hot barrel of the gun closer to the temple of the only one of the five researchers she hadn't shot dead upon breaking in one of the many experiment halls. Before engaging the tidal wave of agents sent to apprehend them Miyu had informed her that every floor was conducting different research. The shooting outside could be clearly heard and it wasn't expected to subside any time soon. But Natsuki wasn't worried about Miyu losing.

"You heard him, make it stop!" she shouted at the shaking man at her feet.

"If… if I power it off, he'll die from the shock," he whimpered.

"What is this?" The gang leader scrutinized the screens showing all of T.N.T.'s captured members and a couple of people she couldn't recognize. Most of her friends seemed physically fine, just stressed out. Except for Akane, who was sitting in the corner of her small bed, dressed in a familiar white gown, rocking back and forth, mumbling something. "What's wrong with her?"

"She was tested whether she was compatible with this project… But the test failed and we've yet to determine why or what the c-consequences are." The man was now freely crying, afraid to turn his head towards his dead colleagues. "This boy… He showed better mental capabilities needed to carry out the project."

"What project?" Natsuki was now working on the controls of the control panel, releasing the people in the confinement rooms. The members of her gang didn't hesitate to jump to action and were in no time rushing to the room she was in. It seemed the facilities of this sub-division were connected by a corridor separate from the main one, where the shoot-out was taking place.

When no answer came, Natsuki pressed the barrel again, prompting the man to continue. She couldn't look up at Takata, so she opted to observe how Dekasugi helped Akane out of her white prison. The girl apathetically followed him like a lamb, staring all the while at her feet.

"A… an AI based on a human brain. A true super-computer, capable of almost anything."

"So you reversed the process of creating people from mechanical parts and began making humans into machines?"

Natsuki wanted to burn this place to the ground, along with herself. She felt the responsibility of letting all this happen weigh more and more on her shoulders to the point of crushing her. These experiments were so ugly… but then she felt the heavy syringe in her pocket. This type of science had helped her come this far. She was part of this whole grotesque picture. Takata wasn't the only experiment in this room.

"Please, at the time it all seemed right…"

"It all seemed right," the speakers echoed with Takata's voice. "It all seemed right. It's getting loud. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Make it stop!"

"How do I get him unhooked from there?" Natsuki lifted the man and slammed him against the nearest wall. "Answer me!"

"You can't without killing him!" The researcher struggled to get free, in vain. "Please! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Not enough," Natsuki whispered and tightened her grip until the man stopped moving. "Sorry is not enough."

She let him slump to the ground in a lifeless heap and she stared blankly at the hand with which she had just strangled him. What Miyu had given her earlier was going to help her keep going for a while. She wasn't going to waste this chance no matter what. The next stop was the MIYU core.

"Kuga-san!"

Kimura Kaede rushed into the room, followed by Dekasugi supporting Akane, and two of Natsuki and Mai's classmates – Ota Yayoi and Ichinose Sayuri. The last two girls had nothing to do with T.N.T., they were just a couple of friendly faces. They had most likely been seen talking to her and Mai and were taken. Natsuki closed her eyes to calm herself a bit and put on her mask of confidence. She smirked.

"Glad you made it to the party," she tapped Dekasugi on the shoulder and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"No sweat, second," the boy tiredly returned her smile and looked down at Akane. "I just wish it hadn't come to this."

Sayuri gasped in shock once her eyes landed on Takata. Ota cried out in surprise and collapsed on both hands and knees, tears streaming down her pale face. The remaining T.N.T. members silently clutched their fists and said nothing.

"Is this why Akane-san-?"

"Yes," Natsuki quickly answered. "We… we can't save him now."

"Kuga-san," Dekasugi's voice trembled as he turned to look at her with anger in his eyes. "Has Blackwood thrown us away? Has he forgotten about us?"

Natsuki opened and closed her mouth. Her usual scowl was in place as she ventured to give another lie and to inspire her subordinates.

"No, that's why I'm here: to save you," she reassured them. "Miyu Greer and I are taking the frontal assault, the rest of our forces are on their way. More help is coming. But for now, can I trust you to bring in the rear? Your job will be to escape through the fire-exit ASAP. Can you do it?"

"Sure, but we don't have weapons." The moment Dekasugi pointed it out, a bunch of weapons and ammunition were thrown through the door, Miyu standing in the light of the corridor, covered in dust and gun powder.

"Here are the weapons and ammunition you'll need." Her hand transformed back from the Gatling gun to normal. She turned towards Natsuki. "We should get going before the second wave arrives. All communication has been blocked and the whole Centre has been sent into disarray."

"Good. Then they'll be chasing us and won't pay that much attention to the guys here," Natsuki nodded to herself and picked up a cartridge-clip for the gun she had acquired earlier. "Where's the MIYU core?"

"The very bottom floor."

"Are we going to blast our way down there, too?" Natsuki jokingly asked.

_Keep it together, Kuga! Don't let it get to you. You'll feel guilty later. Only one thing matters now and that's getting to Smith._

"Affirmative."

Before Natsuki could protest, Miyu had gone out in the corridor and had jumped up to grab onto the ceiling itself. Her fingers bore holes in the white surface and she hung in the air for a moment. Then she bent her left leg backwards and Natsuki jumped back in surprise. A rocket launcher came out of the android's thigh and Miyu aimed at the ground below her.

"How sturdy's the floor?"

"We'll need to shoot approximately three rockets in order to get to level minus six." The weapon clicked and an explosion followed, making Natsuki fall on her back on the remaining surface of the tiled floor.

"You mean you can shoot from there more than once?" she coughed and waved her hand in front of her face. When she looked down, she saw that Miyu's rocket had blasted through two floors. At least she knew that the underground facility was sturdy enough and wouldn't cave in with a bit more damage.

"Jump onto my back and we'll be going."

"If you tell anybody else about all the thrashing and humiliation you put me through today, I'll fry your processor."


	32. Chapter 32

_**A/N: Let me start off by saying that not all of you will like this chapter. It was really hard to write and not only because of one reason. I can't say I did a satisfying job, but I don't know if I'm capable enough to write something better. I hope you won't be too disappointed. There's a chance I've missed something plot-wise, as the story is being wrapped-up in this and the next two chapters. Don't hesitate to point out inconsistencies or such. And I don't know if I was able to show any character development, but... oh, well.**_

_**Thanks to all the reviewers! Your motivational feed-back makes me jump in happiness and spin around with my chair in glee. Seriously, it's like I'm a little girl. Also, sdfsd, of course you can marry the story, but be aware that you'll need to deal with the bad sides of it, too. In a response to a certain part of DezoPenguin's review: of course things are going to explode! I'm just that predictable! ;P**_

_**A note that would prove useful also for the up-coming chappies: for those of you who don't know, Japanese cars' steering wheels are on the right. And since the AU's in a Japanese-ish setting, I thought it better to point something like this out.**_

_**Sorry for any and all typos and gramos. (Crosswood, if you're reading this, know that I miss you!)**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

Miyu landed in a crouch. Natsuki slid off her back in the same position, weapon at the ready. Its immediate target was Tomoe, who was standing on the line between the barrel of the gun and Smith's surprised face. They had landed in a very vast hall, the sizes of a small stadium. In the middle, without a mistake, was the MIYU core.

The structure started from the floor and reached all the way to the high ceiling, as if serving as a metaphorical connection between heaven and earth. Natsuki couldn't determine with exactness the diameter of the cylindrical processor core. All the machinery was situated at the foundation and at the very top, while the middle consisted of what could be assumed _very_ thick glass. Inside the cylinder raging energy provided the power needed for Miyu and the SENYU to function.

With her goal in plain sight, Natsuki shot upright and would've charged head-on, were it not for the sudden spasm that drove through her muscles. She nearly collapsed, but Miyu acted in time as a support.

"You're likely to experience this even more frequently from now on. I'd advise caution," Miyu warned her while her eyes remained glued to the person standing next to Smith – Alyssa. The girl was stoically looking at them, trying not to show she was afraid. Natsuki took a step away from Miyu, now over the initial shock and was ready to jump into action.

_This isn't good. I'm getting ahead of myself. Calm down, calm down._

She knew that her hot-headedness was not her fault entirely, but she couldn't help the overwhelming desire to wreak havoc. She kicked aside a metal rod and some rubble that had fallen together with them and started circling around, looking for an opening she could exploit. Finally faced with her last chance to end this she decided she wasn't going to rush it.

"Your attack is pointless," Smith grit between his teeth. "In just under three minutes all androids from the SENYU series will be here and not even Miyu will be able to stop them."

"If they need to come at all," Tomoe growled. "You did a good number on our regular agents, but reinforcements are coming from the academy. Plus, you won't be able to beat _me_."

"Really?" Natsuki put in use her best gloating tone. Even _she_ wanted to hit herself after hearing it. "Because if I remember correctly I'll only need a school register to wipe the floor with you, Marguerite."

Tomoe was ready to make a come-back, but was interrupted by Smith who was now slowly moving to a door Natsuki had just noticed. Alyssa followed him, not given much of a choice with a gun pointed at her head. Smith wasn't planning on making this easy, either.

"I'm afraid you will have to sort this between you three." He didn't tear his piercing eyes off them even for a second. Miyu had no opportunity to act, but Natsuki observed that she didn't look alarmed by the fact that Smith was getting away with her lady.

"I wouldn't be too sure," the android stood ready to launch herself at the man. "The building is in a state of emergency at the moment and the facility has commenced a complete lock-down. That includes this escape route."

Smith stopped dead in his tracks. Natsuki wondered whether Miyu was just buying them time or was stating the truth. Nevertheless, she decided to execute her newly formed plan, which had popped in her head just minutes ago.

"You really thought that I was working alone, didn't you?" Natsuki drew Smith's attention towards her. "Who told you I was the prototype you were looking for? Who made it possible for me to come here? Who has enough power besides the First District to cure Alyssa and draw her and Miyu Greer on my side?"

"You work for the King's Men?" Tomoe blurted out and Natsuki smirked.

"Do I need to find a recording for you?"

Smith's eyes widened and he let out a bitter laugh. "Don't bother. Now that you've pointed it out, it's become painfully obvious that the White King and Blackwood are one and the same! You just can't stop surprising me!"

"And now the White King's forces are headed here," the gang leader confidently bluffed. Her right leg went dead for a moment and she almost fell, but caught herself; soon she could feel it painfully throbbing again. "I don't think you've anywhere to go, Smith, so just surrender and I'll spare your life."

"Oh, that would be unnecessary, Ms Natsuki," the man smiled.

"What?" she growled out.

"You see, I've already ordered the annihilation of the King's Men. I did it as soon as Searrs was contacted by them yesterday. We couldn't have a third party involved, you see."

Natsuki held her breath. Her shock must have been evident, as Smith smiled cunningly and continued.

"I was just reading the report of their overseas base's thorough annihilation when you were brought into the facilities. Do you want to hear something interesting?"

She scowled.

"It turned out the leader of the organization has been dead for nearly a year and his subordinates, you included, have followed pre-recorded orders. A computer would play a prepared recording, depending on an outcome. Just like playing chess against a virtual intelligence. The man would've made a terrifying enemy were he still alive," Smith laughed. "I wonder if he predicted that Searrs would deploy forces against him and he just let his subordinates die."

_Bastards. All of them! _

It took tremendous efforts not to get distracted by the new information and lose focus on her current predicament. Natsuki gritted her teeth and narrowed her burning eyes at Smith. She had to swallow the hurt that she had been played by her father. But it all made sense now.

So that was how he was planning to finally kill her. It didn't matter that the man himself was dead – Natsuki, his supposed clone, was still alive and the fact that she was facing off against Smith meant she had become a worthy opponent once again. If she hadn't reached the current point, that would've meant she lost the game on an earlier stage. And her father had wanted to play against himself, to test his abilities; to confirm once again he was an unbeatable genius and the only one able to win against him would be…

"Well, it can't be helped now. A pity you had to drag the young lady and her faithful retainer down with you," Smith said, pulling Natsuki out of her musings. "But truly, I can't comprehend where we went wrong, Miyu," he turned towards the android. "Your core programming is to mainly serve Searrs, not only Ms Alyssa."

"Maybe she adapted. Maybe you achieved in creating a soul," Natsuki spat out, the experiments she had seen flashing in her head. And she was sure this was just the tip of the iceberg of atrocities Searrs had been committing. She was answered by a sneer.

"The android acquiring a soul? Don't make me laugh! She's just a weapon, a prototype!" Tomoe never took her stormy eyes off Natsuki's form. "The SENYU are connected to her main core, yes, but they're different. They actually listen to their orders and can't be swayed by anything!"

"There must be something wrong with her current platform," concluded Smith. "No matter, after it's exterminated the problem will disappear."

"Don't hurt Miyu!" Everybody turned towards Alyssa, who had used the man's distraction to tear herself away from his slackened grip. "She's done nothing but protect me and serve you!"

Natsuki slowly tucked her gun away and crouched, careful not to be spotted by Tomoe who was watching with some kind of sadistic amusement Alyssa's blue eyes tearing up.

"She has become useless garbage now, young lady," Smith approached the girl and she took a step back. "And garbage must be disposed of."

Natsuki wrapped her fingers around a metal pipe and quietly readied it. She slid her free hand in the lab coat's pocket and pulled out the syringe.

* * *

"_Let's go save my friends then."_

"_Wait."_

_Natsuki stopped dead in her tracks and turned back with some irritation. They were running out of time. Miyu held two syringes in her palm and gestured for her to take them. Natsuki held them in her palm and gave them a suspicious look._

"_What're these?" _

"_I took them from the control room after I dealt with the assistant," the android explained, a trace of insecurity in her voice. Natsuki lifted a dark brow, waiting for further elaboration. "They're… stimulants of sorts. They were planning on using them later on."_

"_Oh? What do they do?" When Miyu opened her mouth to answer, Natsuki waved her hands in front of her face. "I mean explain in a language I'll be able to understand. Keep it simple, please." _

"_Very well, I'll keep the more disturbing details to myself."_

"_Yeah, yeah. So what's the gist of it?"_

"_You'll get a power boost. The serum will better your ability of judgement, making split-second decisions easier to make, your physical qualities will rise for a short period of time. That goes the same for your regeneration."_

"_In short, I'll be powerful enough to beat Tomoe."_

"_Even more so, I would think."_

"_Since when do you use 'I think'?"_

"_Maybe I need to deceive both of us in order for the plan to succeed."_

"_Oi…" Natsuki crossed her arms and sighed. Life wasn't going to give her such a convenience without a hefty price. "So what's the catch?"_

_Miyu hesitated for a moment._

"_It takes a huge toll on the heart and the rest of the muscles. The serum was designed and created as a form of cure for lady Alyssa, but all of the test subjects died after suffering from abnormally fast developed muscle dystrophy. Soon their hearts stopped functioning." _

_For the first time Natsuki saw Miyu genuinely confused after hearing the gang leader's follow-up reaction. "Why are you laughing?"_

"_Well, keeping in mind that you're an android and Tomoe's a half-cyborg, in other words – two unbeatable monsters – you might not quite understand why I'm happy. But see, I'm not actually factory-standard myself, so I should be okay with the after-effects. I think." Natsuki gratefully accepted the two syringes and dropped one in her pocket. The other one she stuck in her thigh's artery. Miyu stared wide-eyed._

_Natsuki shivered and swayed, but managed to keep her balance. She could feel the change instantly. _

"_After how many shots did the poor bastards die?" She flexed her fingers, somewhat enjoying the newly found source of strength, though she knew that she would regret it later._

"_All of the test subjects were healthy adult males__.__Some died after the first, others after the second shot. I would recommend you used the second dosage of the serum only in if you feel the effect completely wearing off in a case of extreme emergency."_

"_And what if I take it before then?"_

"_There are no records of what would happen in that case."_

* * *

_**So we'll have to find out the hard way.**_

She saw that Miyu had deduced her plan, but hadn't said anything probably out of fear of letting the chance of safely retrieving Alyssa slip by.

"So you'll throw away years of hard work like this? We all know the new models aren't as efficient as Miyu," Alyssa argued back. The man's repulsive smile only grew bigger.

"Now you're acting like a drowning man, Ms Alyssa: searching even for the tiniest straw in an attempt to stay afloat."

Natsuki inclined her head so that she could bite onto the lab coat's collar and thrust the syringe like she had done earlier. She swallowed back a cry of pain and her vision went black for a moment and all sound disappeared. It all came back in a violent torrent of sensations. At the same time she could see, smell, taste, hear and sense everything and nothing.

"… research contained in our databases…"

She was breathing deeply and choking for air, endless energy was surging through her being and draining her entire power, as she was both living and dying within the confines of a second. But the dominant thought booming in her head was that she had Tomoe exactly where she wanted her. And in a trance she watched her body moving with insane speed towards her target.

To Natsuki it looked like Marguerite was standing completely still as she drove the steel pipe right in her flesh. The assault didn't stop there, though. While she kept running forward, Tomoe seemingly not struggling at all, she heard, saw, smelled and felt Miyu dashing towards Alyssa and grabbing her just on time before Smith's gun fired. But Natsuki continued for the reactor, even if she heard everybody but the android screaming for her to stop. With another push of her legs, she was able to lift Tomoe up a bit with her improvised lance and slammed her into the core's cylindrical body.

Upon the impact the glass cracked, but didn't break. And Natsuki knew that no matter what she did, her strength alone wouldn't be enough. Time started slowing down for her and she watched Tomoe, despite half-pierced, beginning to struggle back. Her arms were now gripping the pipe, threatening to break it and thus freeing herself. But it wasn't just Natsuki who had noticed that was about to happen.

She saw from the corner of her eye that Miyu (Alyssa being held tightly in her embrace) was flying towards them, a powerful kick promising to finish the job. In just a split second both her steel feet connected with Tomoe's abdomen and helped the android rebound back into the direction she had come from. But the force was enough, as the (what was built to be) impenetrable glass broke and the crackling energy consumed Tomoe. The half-cyborg screamed in agony as she disappeared in the violent whirlpool. Natsuki let the rod go and jumped back with lightning speed, running through the now open door at the far end.

The gang leader vaguely assumed that Miyu had grabbed Alyssa and Smith and was escaping ahead of her. She felt flame tongues licking her back and she picked up her speed, now feeling her leg muscles burning from exertion. Her heart was madly pounding, threatening to burst through her chest and outrunning the rest of her body. In one second the exit was a speck of light and in the next Natsuki was running down the slope of a hill. The heat wave chasing her, followed by the flames themselves, made her topple forward and she fell rolling all the way to the foot of the hill.

For a long moment she just lay there, face buried in the muddy grass, catching her breath. The world still was reacting in an unusual way and she knew that soon she would feel the consequences. She reasoned she'd better get a move-on before that happened.

When she pushed herself up straight she felt a distant stinging pain in her hands and glanced down at them. The fingers and palm of her right hand were burned to the bone, her left one not much better off. In the back of her mind she thought that using a metal pipe to break the core hadn't been one of her brightest ideas. However, what was more shocking to her was that the tissue had started regenerating and muscles and tendons connected before her very eyes.

A shuffling and a muffled scream to her left drew her attention. Miyu was standing in her full intimidating height in front of the trembling John Smith, who was gaping at her. Alyssa was close behind her loyal protector.

"How… your main program… How are you still functional?!" He had completely lost his cool composure and was shaking, his skin an ashen colour.

"And how much of my entire programming is that, John Smith?" Miyu took a step forward and he started crawling away from her. "Little by little I transferred pieces of my core programming to different servers. Finally I transferred the last bit into the new SENYU core you built, overwriting the original. Soon all of the SENYU will have developed in a similar way I have."

"You're a virus!" Smith roared, seemingly forgetting his fear. "But no matter! Since you know of the existence of the SENYU core, then you know that the androids it now powers are more than enough to take care of the likes of you!"

Natsuki's ears perked at the sound of footsteps coming their way. No, running their way. She hastily moved closer to Miyu and Alyssa, making the latter back away with a jump.

"Your coat is still burning," Alyssa regarded her with wide blue eyes. Natsuki looked down and only then noticed the end of the now not so white lab coat aflame. She swiped at it a few times and put away the fire, wondering how she could feel so much at the same time and yet the pain from her wounds was still to come.

A shadow was cast over them and when they lifted their eyes, they were greeted by ten feminine figures, dressed completely in black, their heads hooded. They were standing on top of the hill, just above the burnt emergency exit Natsuki's group had escaped through only moments prior to the new enemy's arrival.

Smith shakily laughed and stood up. His confidence was starting to seep back into him, as he saw he had gained the upper hand again.

"Let me introduce you to the new SENYU Assassination Squad. I suggest you don't move from your spots unless you want to die instantly." He started walking up towards his small android squad.

"Didn't you say you overwrote their programming?" Natsuki whispered to Miyu, who didn't bother looking her way.

"There's a road to the west of here. You are expected somewhere along it. It wouldn't take you too much effort to find your accomplice once you reach it." Miyu's eyes once again shifted to the eerie green from the time she had hacked the other androids. "Take lady Alyssa and make a run for it."

"What are you gonna do? You can't handle them all by yourself!" Natsuki didn't like being forced to escape while leaving somebody behind. She had left so much already in that facility…

"I'll shut them from their main server. I have already finished altering their programming, as you've pointed out, but the final step is to upload my code to the core," Miyu calmly explained as she watched Smith's retreating back. "Then I'll most likely be able to control them, as we'll become one. For a short while this platform will be able to provide you backup, but after the upload has reached beyond 50%, it will be rendered immobile. So, until then-"

"No! You'll be lost then!" Alyssa cried and latched herself to her retainer's leg. Tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks.

Natsuki wordlessly kneeled and picked up the girl, breaking her grip without a trace of an effort. Alyssa kicked and screamed, but was silenced by a still healing palm covering her mouth.

Natsuki's arm was shaking, as was her whole body. She couldn't tell whether it was due to the physical exhaustion or the heaviness of the grief of losing yet another.

"May I ask you a favour?" Miyu still wasn't looking at them.

"A big or a small one?"

"It's… hard to say. It's an important one." Natsuki nodded. "Will you take care of the young lady?"

Alyssa let out a muffled sob, now not bothering to stop her hot tears. Smith had climbed all the way up and was looking down at them, his tiny glasses shining on his beak of a nose. He was about to give a command.

"Sure." Natsuki crouched slightly and got ready to run with all the strength she had left. "And Greer? Before you become one with the Cosmos, I wanna tell you something."

"That was an unneeded joke, Kuga-san. Was it to lighten up the mood?"

"You've become a better human than I'll ever be."

Natsuki's feet took off with an amazing speed, surprising the girl herself that she still could push her body far beyond normal physical restrictions. But she realized she needed much more too late as the sounds of battle resounded not far behind her. She was an easy target in the open field, so she had to risk dashing to a small forest on her right, instead towards the road like Miyu had instructed her. And she was also carrying Alyssa in her arms, thus she was slower than before and had to be careful not to get the little girl hurt.

She was extremely thankful to the fact that she had received the serum; it enabled her senses to sharpen and made detecting danger easier. Her honed instincts weren't enough to help her survive in such a situation. She jumped forward just as a throwing knife connected with the ground behind her. A lone android had managed to slip by Miyu and was currently pursuing them.

The place Natsuki had stuck with the syringe's needle began throbbing, but she couldn't afford to slow down just because her leg hurt. Alyssa was holding tight, her small arms securely wrapped around her protector's neck. Natsuki suddenly changed the direction she was headed towards, once again dodging the throwing knives. She was back on track and the road was supposed to be just ahead.

Natsuki's whole efforts were concentrated on reaching the road. She didn't know what she expected to happen once she accomplished her goal, but she knew she couldn't let Alyssa get hurt. She was supposed to protect her life, while staying somehow alive in order to carry out her Grand lie. A knife-shaped object flew past her face, but the direction it was headed was… wrong. It came from the front. Natsuki's heart sank as the realization that she had been ambushed struck her with full force.

_But wait. I wasn't trying to dodge, so why didn't the attack hit? Unless…_

For the sake of both her and Alyssa's lives, she hoped she was right and continued forward. She spun around a tree, just now noticing she had indeed been running through a forest. The speed and nimbleness she was moving with made it hard to believe she was forced to take into consideration every obstacle in her path. The thought of evading branches or roots hadn't even crossed her mind; she had been doing it unconsciously all this time. And she was carrying Alyssa to boot!

_**There's gonna be hell to pay later.**_

_Don't even want to think about it…_

Another barrage of steel projectiles swished past her, slowing her pursuer. Natsuki was sure now – this reeked of Kanzaki interfering. Good thing he brought his ninja backup, because the android wouldn't spare them just because of his smile. Her wild run continued while kunai and knives flew back and forth, barely missing her and Alyssa. One of the weapons sliced at the calf of Natsuki's right leg and she stumbled, but didn't stop.

With one mighty last jump, she was on the road, her shoes connecting with the hard asphalt. She didn't need to look back to know that the android was on her tail. Kanzaki's silhouette was now visible; he was running towards them, two black-clad men behind him. All of them were carrying weapons. The clank of metal behind her made Natsuki push herself harder, but the fatigue caught up to her.

So did the pain.

Something tore in her right leg and she fell forward, feeling like a rag doll on strings, one of which had just snapped. Her fall happened slowly, in shredded sequences.

She twisted her body so that she would fall on her back, with the idea to avoid hurting Alyssa.

The android was in front of them, its arm already a blade.

Natsuki aimed a fist at its head to stop it.

The head snapped back, but the blade still struck its target.

Searing pain drove into her left shoulder, close to the collar-bone.

The eyes of the SENYU flashed green and then it shut down.

Natsuki hit the asphalt, crushed under the machine.

She realized that the puddle of blood forming under her wasn't only hers.

Her eyes shifted down towards Alyssa. The girl was still clutching her tightly, even though the blade had gone straight through her. The life was leaving her teary blue eyes. A trail of blood seeped out of her mouth when she opened it to speak.

"N-Natsu-"

"Don't speak!" Natsuki choked on her own tears. She didn't dare to push the android off them in fear she could worsen their situation by pulling the blade out. There were running steps in the background.

"I'm… so glad…"

"Don't waste your breath… on me," Natsuki begged, her injuries forgotten. "Hear that? Help's coming, so keep quiet. Save it for later."

"No… I want you… to know…" Alyssa's eyes were starting to go dull.

_I wanted to see the sunny sky reflected in them. I wanted her to smile._

"I'm so… glad… I had… a sister like you… even if it ended… so fast…"

"I like you too, kiddo. Don't go," Natsuki quietly begged, though she forced a tear-stained smile on her face. "I promised I'd take you out, remember?"

"Yes… I… like vanilla ice-cream…"

"Vanilla ice-cream it is then," her smile she was threatening to crack, but Natsuki did her best to keep it on her face. "How does the park sound to you?"

"Perfect." A small cold palm rested on her teary face. "Sister?"

"Yeah?"

"You're pretty… when you… smile…"

Natsuki reached up to her cheek despite the burning pain and gripped the girl's limp hand. She couldn't feel her heart-beat nor her breathing against her neck anymore.

"Kiddo?" Her voice cracked and she let her head fall back on the ground when she didn't receive an answer. The cold December sun blinded her, throwing a dappled shadow through the trees' branches. A sob escaped her throat, followed by another. All of her physical pain was forgotten as the tears gushed from her unseeing eyes.

She didn't care to look at either Reito or Akira, who simply stood there silent, any words pointless at the moment. Lying there crying was all she wanted to do. All she _could_ do.

The android clicked back to life. It reattached its hand and stood up from Natsuki, regarding its surroundings. Akira assumed hostility and pulled out a kunai, ready to attack. Kanzaki and his men also pointed their guns at the android's head. Natsuki sat up, carefully cradling Alyssa's body in her arms, the blade still stuck through them.

"Greer?" Her hoarse voice grated against her sore throat. She winced more out of habit than anything else. "Is that you?"

"The individual program-cluster known as MIYU, has merged with our programing," a mechanical voice answered.

"She in there?"

"We are all one."

"Who's 'we'?"

"We are the remnants of MIYU and SENYU. It sacrificed its individuality to give us freedom."

The fallen leaves rustled and nine more SENYU Assassination units emerged from behind the trees. A tight circle formed around Natsuki's group, the humans holding their weapons at the ready.

"Who do you serve?" Reito eyed them wearily.

"Whoever we decide," one of the units responded. "Are you Alyssa-lady?"

"She is- was," Natsuki hugged the small body closer. She was still shaking. "Why?"

The machines didn't respond at first. Then they lined up in front of the group.

"We wish to help."

"Help?" Akira didn't seem to buy it. Neither did Kanzaki.

"What did you conclude?" Natsuki asked out of the blue. The androids turned their faceless heads in her direction. "Do you… have a soul?"

"That's… to be revealed through further experience," they all answered as one. Natsuki nodded.

"Trust them," she declared without a hint of hesitation. "They have the MIYU program as their base, they'll surely help us."

Reito said nothing at first, but then acceptance slowly crept into his eyes.

"Very well. I'll assume direct command for the moment of half of them," he turned towards Natsuki. "Do you wish to be the one to give instructions to the other half?"

That wasn't a question.

"Sounds fair enough." Her eyes dropped to look at Alyssa. If it wasn't for the blood, she could've been sleeping. Natsuki couldn't bring herself to let go of the little body. Tears again threatened to spill from her tired of death eyes.

"One of you androids, take Alyssa Searrs's body to safety," Reito invoked his commanding tone.

The shell of Alyssa Searrs was torn away from Natsuki's grip along with the detached weapon as she watched. In an instant it all became too much for her to bear again. She buried her face in her right hand and screamed in anguish, rage, despair, and pain. The chill in the air bit at her skin, the cold wind drying the tears on her cheeks.

Akira crouched beside her to tend to her stab-wound, but was pushed away. Natsuki growled in anger and tried to get up to her feet. Her right leg cried in something more than any pain she had endured before. She fell on her face. The two black-clad men rushed to help her, but Kanzaki stopped them with a shake of his head.

The angry red of the newly regenerated skin on her arms burned when she hit the ground in agitation. She used her good arm and leg to crawl to the nearest tree. Her nails dug into the bark and she pulled herself up groaning. Blackness enveloped her vision as she slowly became used to what was all but her destroyed right leg.

"Are you going to crawl all the way to Fuuka?" Reito asked calmly. Natsuki regarded him with pain-clouded eyes.

"You making fun of me, pretty boy?"

The trunk served as her only support at the moment. A torrent of thoughts flooded her mind as she recalled the most excruciating two hours she had been forced through. Worry suddenly pushed and shoved away grief. Did Akane and the others make it okay? Had Takata's suffering finally ended? Was that bastard John Smith still alive and plotting his next move against them? Were her friends at the academy alright? What had happened with Mai and Nao?

_Shizuru… Shizuru._

"I'll use only my tongue to pull myself to Fuuka if I have to. What about you? Do you have the resolve to walk, run and crawl down the road I've diligently carpeted for you?" She gripped harder at the trunk. "After learning I've stained my hands and soul so much that I'm drowning in red, are you willing to do the same? Or will you get lost down the way?"

One of the men uncomfortably shifted and she just noticed that he was Yamada. Surprise failed her. Reito's face remained stiff like stone.

"Certainly, I just learned that what you did during those two years wasn't just forcefully disbanding gangs and serving justice. At first I was shocked, repulsed even. I'm relieved nobody knew until last night except you, Yamada and Shizuru-san. They wouldn't have followed you, had they known. Though what you did… is what made it possible for us to have a winning chance today," his piercing dark gaze burned into her. "I won't… make light of it."

"Good. Because if you screw up after all of this shit, the big bad wolf will find you and eat you whole. I'll lie in waiting, watching for a chance to bite your arm off if you even think to pick the wrong flower."

"With the old commanding brass dead, I'll be taking the lead in the New First District. I won't be careless in assuming my new position, Natsuki-san," Reito sighed and turned towards the only man unfamiliar to the gang leader. "Go get the car. We're going to knock on the Governor's door."

The man did as told. Reito turned to the androids.

"And I've just acquired a new vanguard." He smirked, a plot of carnage written on his face. "You'll go ahead before me and slow down Smith's vehicle. Help Fujino Shizuru's group at Fuuka Bridge."

The androids waited for a tired nod from Natsuki before they were all gone.

"Kuga-san," Akira ventured once more. "Let me treat your wound."

"Do as you wish, Okuzaki." She eyed the kunoichi wearily, not having the desire to push the help away, but too proud to accept it. "But just to let you know, it's already closing on its own."

Akira hesitated for a moment before approaching and inspecting the stab-wound through the tear in the fabric. Her eyes widened as she was observed how the tissue slowly reconnected.

"It was a clean stab, not damaging the lungs… It must be cleaned nevertheless." The younger girl concluded stubbornly, clearly suppressing the urge to pull back, and Natsuki sighed.

"Can't we wait until we're in the car?"

Just as she exasperatedly watched Akira fuss over her stabbed shoulder, an unfamiliar car pulled next to them, Yamada waved for them to board and he motioned for the driver to get in the back. Natsuki just watched Reito slide into the front seat and scowled further.

"Get out of my seat, Charming."

Akira went to her right and helped her limp over to the vehicle, conflicted between saying something in Kanzaki's favour and throwing herself in the line of Natsuki's foul mood or just keeping quiet, letting the two sort out their ego problems. It seemed she opted for the latter.

Reito had dropped his pleasant demeanour long ago and was now wearing his commander boots. He slowly turned his head towards the gang leader and studied her with a long scrutinizing look. Natsuki remained still; her good right arm was wrapped around the shorter girl's shoulders, with her weight shifted completely on her left leg, the other one dead and useless. She didn't even want to try and move it, afraid she would pass out from the pain. Though the serum would kick in and would somewhat lessen the shock, she was feeling the effect starting to wear off. Her heart continued to beat rapidly, begging the rest of her to move, to jump head-first into the action. This served as a cold reminder that she was still alive, while others weren't.

"This'll get us nowhere," Yamada, now gripping the steering wheel tightly, said between his teeth. "Kanzaki-san, get in the backseat or we'll lose this war over a childish squabble."

Reito reluctantly did as told, his action followed by a well hidden victorious look from Natsuki. She was helped inside her desired position by the silent ninja, who then slid in the back next to her master. Akira didn't waste a second and as the car started moving, she tore the clothes off Natsuki's shoulder and began cleaning the wound using the supplies from the medicine chest stored under the front seats.

"Kanzaki."

Natsuki purposefully tried to engage a conversation. She didn't want to look at the field at the left, the dark smoke rising in the skies, or the distant silhouettes of the incoming helicopters.

"My men managed to safely retrieve the five students you're probably concerned with. Along with some other survivors from the human experiments and a handful of Searrs researchers and agents, those were the only ones who survived the blast," he paused.

_Only five, huh?_

"What caused it?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

She clenched her teeth and hissed when a convulsion went through her body like electricity through a conduit. Akira had just finished with the bandages and pulled back alarmed. Natsuki shook her head, indicating it wasn't the girl's fault. She had to admire the good patch-up work Okuzaki had done, given the uncomfortable position they were both in.

"Thanks for getting them out safely," though she meant it, her words came out so dull she couldn't believe them herself. "Can you tell me something about the people back at the Academy?"

"Shizuru-san and the rest are doing fine, probably en route to intercept Smith. I'm sure the androids will be a welcomed surprise," his boyish smile seemed strained. "They're tired, as we all are, but their spirits are high. It's… tough having to carry so much people, isn't it?"

"Nobody's carrying them, they're moving forward on their own. It doesn't matter if I feel responsible for them – in the end they'll do what they think's the right thing. Even if we're giving them a little push," Natsuki pretended not to notice the sly smile creeping on Yamada's lips. "But don't tell me you're chickening out?"

"Oh, no," he shook his head. "I've always known that I need to be the one at the top, the one with all the responsibilities. The all-knowing, omnipotent Obsidian Prince – only a title at first glance, but hiding so many possibilities if you can dig them out from under all the corpses. And I have. Now with the remaining forces relying on my command, we can strike back. After that I'll start the organization anew, keeping only the principles befitting of my leadership. Of course, making full use of the resources you've so helpfully provided."

"Careful, Kanzaki, it all comes with a price," Natsuki warned him grimly. "Not only glory is what awaits you at the top."

"What else do you think will be lurking there?"

"Loneliness. Nobody will understand you, no matter what you do. That may drive you insane, pretty boy. But if that ever happens…"

"You'll be there to drag me back down to hell, I know. That's what we agreed upon, after all."

"Yeah," Natsuki turned around to face him. "Say, you have a spare comm?"

He smiled and pulled one out of his dark uniform's pocket, handing it to her. She fixed the frequency, jammed it in her ear and cleared her throat before pressing a finger against it.

"Kruger here." She heard relieved sighs, cheers and the rumble of an engine. Her comrades were most likely riding in stolen vans. It seemed the plan was proceeding smoothly on their part and she dared to crack a small smile. However, it was gone as soon as the memory of Alyssa's last words stabbed at her.

"Hallard, you there?"

"_I'm everywhere~,"_ rang Chie's voice through the comms.

"_I once had a rash like that,"_ Nao's comment followed not a second after.

"Good, listen…"


	33. Chapter 33

_**A/N: On to the climax! Honestly, I was surprised I didn't receive a tirad of complaints for 'killing' Alyssa, but that made me happy. I'm really trying to keep this story unpredictable (ha-ha...) till the end, so I guess that's why I made that heavy decision. It was important plot-wise *tries to convince herself*. **_

_**I don't know what to say about this chapter. Probably I'll have to write a warning that you might not like it. At all. Or maybe you will. I tried. **_

_**I'd like to thank you for all of your reviews! Stick with me for a bit longer. The ride's almost over. **_

_**About Natsuki's father being dead; I tried to give off hints during the last 'conversation' she had with him on that platform. My efforts to make it kinda awkward may have failed and for that, I apologize, since it seems like it's poor planning and writing on my part. Maybe I should've given that scene more thought... ehehe.**_

_**Also, regarding the one-shot I asked your opinion about; as it will turn too short, I'll include it in the last chapter and thus, you'll get a longer installment than originally planned. The last chappie was going to be arond 4k words, but now the word count will rise... somewhat. **_

_**Any questions, advice and complaints should be directed towards the 'author'. Sorry for English. Potato.**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

"_Got it. So our only objective is-"_

"Smith's head on a platter."

"_That's a pretty tall order. It's not gonna come cheap."_

"No, it's a very cheap head. Its owner's a reptile crawling in the dirt, right in front of our feet, so it's not a tall order at all."

"_I agree with Kruger,"_ Nao laughed. _"He's already dead, but just doesn't know it yet."_

Natsuki was filled with a sense of gratitude towards her friends, especially Nao. The freshman had followed thoroughly with her given orders even though it was plain obvious she disagreed on more than one level with the gang leader's decisions. It was mostly thanks to the nature of their relationship that they were able to work effectively together. It wasn't a matter of them hating or loving each other – they stood on a middle ground between the two extremes, where they had found respect and trust; trust that when the one made a mistake, the other would pull her back.

After all, the only one beside Kanzaki who was _fully_ acquainted with the last piece of her plan was Nao. She had listened thoughtfully when Natsuki had explained to her and hadn't tried to judge her actions. Nao knew and understood it had been necessary. Moral restrictions weren't even discussed when the three of them had quietly schemed last night, while her comrades and friends were busy with other preparations.

_Friends…_

Until meeting Mai and Nao, Natsuki mused with a very faint smile, Shizuru had been her only anchor, binding her to some form of normal existence. But with the arrival of the two red-heads, her bitter outlook had slowly started changing. She realized that if she ever had the chance to change the circumstances around her tragic past, she wouldn't do it. Her friends, her Shizuru, all of the people she had met – the good and the bad – were with her because of what she was today. Her eyes stung with tears she couldn't let herself shed.

Miyu had just started to understand that she had begun developing a personality and that had helped her make a decision. A decision a machine shouldn't have been able to make on its own. She chose to trust Natsuki with the only purpose of her existence, relying on the abilities of a person she had only met recently. The android had put Alyssa's life in Natsuki's hands on nothing more than the basis of a promise. A promise so easily broken. It took nothing more than a moment's mistake and Natsuki had betrayed all the trust put in her.

Now, Miyu's sacrifice appeared to have been in vain. The always headstrong and confident Ice Princess put her blood-stained, cold hand over her eyes, blocking the irritating sunlight. The static in her ear was broken from time to time by the intense curt communication between her friends.

"We need to exploit the androids to their maximum capabilities," Reito quietly pondered aloud from behind her. "Two or three will remain with Shizuru-san's group, while the rest will commence in the assault of the government's facilities."

"Don't say exploit, Kanzaki. They _chose_ to help our sorry asses," she glared at him using the car's mirror. His lips formed a thin line and he looked to the side, saying nothing in reply. He then gave orders to his men.

After a few moments he sat up straight and his serious expression faded into a smile.

"They arrived?" Natsuki noticed the change at once.

"Yes."

"How's the situation?"

"Deteriorating fast for Searrs. The First District's remaining forces are there in strength," his eyes focused on the crease of her brows. "Doesn't that mean that you should be getting communication from your squad? The three dispatched androids are supposed to have reached them already."

"That's what's bothering me."

* * *

The two vans (parked sideways behind the toll booths' bars) were enough to block Fuuka's suspension bridge's entry-exit point. The structure itself was built on elevated ground and while it connected the two shores of Fuuka bay, it overlooked the entire city, only the skyscrapers surpassing its height.

Nao's group had received intel from the New First District that Smith's convoy, consisting of four armoured automobiles, was moving towards them and was sure to use the bridge, since it was the only road that wasn't heavily guarded by the First District's heavily reinforced jeeps. They were in luck that Searrs hadn't dispatched their helicopters to pick up Smith. According to the information, that was due to the fact that they were sent elsewhere on orders of the higher brass of the organization.

Nao had gotten off their vehicle, disconcerted by its paper-thin walls and the possibility of them being pierced without the need of any form of heavy weaponry. She shivered in the breeze, the platform of the bridge offering no place for shelter and allowing the air currents to pass freely. Her duty was to be on a look-out for potential unforeseen danger, but instead she was gazing over at the city.

What Kuga saw in it was still a mystery, but if protecting it meant victory over Nao's mother's killers she was not going to stop until every pebble in it no longer belonged to Searrs. The citizens were hiding in their homes, the sound of the traffic had stopped and only a few lonely vehicles could be seen driving along the empty streets through Nao's binoculars. She lowered them. The sound of an explosion and the splashing of the waves below dominated over the silence– another proof how spookily quiet the city was. It was as if it was holding its breath, ready to release it once there was a conclusion to the strife.

She lifted her finger to her ear. "Kruger? Zhang here."

"_Yes?" _There was some kind of anxiety and expectation in Natsuki's voice, though Nao couldn't tell why it was there.

"I wanna talk to you about something," she was aware that everybody else was also listening. "That ten-four?"

"_Yeah." _Sudden disappointment hidden behind curiosity. _"What is it?"_

"I'm watching the city now. There are no people in the streets, nobody's out wondering what's happening. They're hiding in their homes afraid to fight what's their fight too."

"_So? That's why we're here – because they're scared."_

"They don't know we're giving them their freedom back! They don't care as long as their lives are safe!"

Crackling static answered her this time.

"Kruger, we can't go around spreading justice those people don't understand."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Mai smiling sadly. She couldn't understand why, so she continued.

"Only they can build a better future for themselves and this city. Otherwise, we're just taking them from one cage and shutting them in another!"

"_I know." _Natsuki's even tone startled her a bit. _"We're making that decision for them, since all they've known these past years is oppression and fear to stand against the system. Don't worry; soon all of them will know why this needed to happen."_

"I-"

A crash made her and Mai snap their heads in the direction Smith's convoy was supposed to come from. The black vehicles had stopped some distance from them, two hooded figures blocking the path. The rest of the party's members jumped out from the vans, all of them armed. Even Aoi, leaning on a crutch, was holding onto a gun aimed at the distance through the hole between the two vehicles. Chie was at the far back, crouching on the ground in front of her computer, Yukino and Haruka at her side.

"Something's on. I'll report later."

No reply followed from Natsuki.

Takumi approached Mai and handed her a small gun. She took it and pushed him behind her back. He complied reluctantly and stepped back next to Arika, Nina and Irina, who were holding rifles at the ready. Shizuru and Kazuya rushed to the front, while Midori and Yohko circled to the two flanks of the group, as Mikoto guarded the rear with her sword. The student council president risked to emerge in front of the vans, leaving the rest of the gang staring incredulously at her back. Nao followed her, wanting to get a better view herself.

Shizuru and Nao hadn't taken even a few steps before another hooded figure was crouching before them. Their guns were instantly aimed at the stranger's head, their fingers tense on the triggers. Nao noticed the figure was holding something. It lifted its head and she stifled a yelp. The figure's face only had a pair of green shining eyes; no nose, no mouth – just a stark white head. It stared back at them from under its hood. From the corner of her eye, Nao could see that even Shizuru was too bewildered to say anything. Both of them held their breath.

"Please, do not shoot us," a mechanical voice requested. "We're here to help you. Kanzaki-prince and Kuga-leader sent us."

It stood to its full height and Nao choked at the sight of what it was carrying. Beside her Shizuru audibly gasped and her gun trembled; they still hadn't lowered their weapons. It saw where their shocked looks were fixed and its arms extended towards them holding the bloodied body of Alyssa Searrs.

"This platform was tasked with bringing back the body of Alyssa-lady to safety. Now that we are here, you too are safe," it explained emotionlessly. More shooting was heard in the background; one of the cars exploded.

"Who are you?" Shizuru's lips moved in the question and even Nao who was standing next to her could barely hear her.

"We are SENYU. We don't have a name. There are ten platforms of us. We wish to help."

Nao still couldn't avert her eyes from the small body in the android's arms. She lowered her weapon and stretched her hand, touching the cold cheek of the child. At first it appeared she was just sleeping, but the truth was that death wasn't as beautiful as the poets described it. The red blood had started to dry, staining the Angel's perfectly tailored and kept dress, as well as her blonde tresses.

It didn't seem either of the girls had noticed that Sagisawa Yohko had left her safe position, until she was already at their side. She had approached without a trace of fear towards the unknown android and checked for a pulse in blind hope. The doctor closed her eyes and mumbled something to herself. Nao thought it must be hard to watch a young life being taken away and remembered that Alyssa had been together with Natsuki.

"Why did she let this happen?" she hissed quietly and clenched her fist.

"Where's Miyu Greer?" Shizuru asked as she watched the doctor taking the body away behind the two black vans.

"A part of MIYU remains within us."

The other two cars exploded. Nao didn't care if John Smith was there burning and screaming in agony. It didn't matter now – another innocent was lost. She remembered Natsuki's words from back when Nao's mother died.

_It's always the innocent who die first, right, Kuga?_

* * *

_What will happen to you, my dear Natsuki?_

Shizuru inwardly wept for Miyu and Alyssa, although her heart went most for her Natsuki. Her beloved must have been crushed by the child's death, she reasoned. She was aware that even if Natsuki had known Alyssa to be her sister for a short while, she had grown attached to the thought of having a family. The little girl had meant so much to Shizuru's lover – it was evident in the way Natsuki had told her all she could about her little sister. Her emeralds had shown with such happiness that Shizuru caught herself feeling jealous for not being the reason.

The strong smell of burning gasoline and tires made her crease her brows as the foulness stung her eyes. She now had a good excuse to let her tears flow freely. The blurred from the tears and smoke silhouettes of the two remaining androids approached her. Nao had retreated behind the vans. A good decision, Shizuru mused, as she could now hear her consolidating Mai who was in hysterics. She didn't know she would do a good job at it right now.

"We have fulfilled our mission. These platforms will now head for the main assault."

And with that, the androids were off. Shizuru simply stood there, the fire and tears adding to the red in her eyes. All that was left was to wait for Natsuki and confirm Smith's death. The rest to be done would be history. History written in blood. She could only hope there weren't any more casualties.

Her feet slowly started moving towards the still burning vehicles. She heard Kazuya shouting for her to stop.

* * *

"Zhang, respond."

Natsuki was starting to get worried when she didn't receive further elaboration from Nao on what the situation was.

"_The SENYU unit arrived," _Chie's voice answered her instead. Natsuki closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. So they knew…

"Any sign of the enemy?" she couldn't let her grief distract her now. It was all going to be over soon.

"_Three vehicles blown up sky-high. The SENYU were mercilessly thorough. Viola and Krauxeku have confirmed all of the car passengers dead, though we can't determine whether Smith's among them. Ten deaths in total," _the informer kept all emotion out of her voice. Natsuki felt thankful. She turned towards Yamada.

"How long till we reach them?"

"No more than a minute."

"Step on it, then."

_I don't have much time left. _

She was still high on energy, but she felt that if she pushed her body further it would certainly break. In this state she didn't know her own limit which in the end was more hazardous than the strain the serum put on her heart.

"Copy that. Expect our arrival," she turned towards Reito. "How's the raid going?"

"It's a matter of time before we've gained complete control. The three additional androids have been reported to have joined in the efforts," he dared to show a small smile. "It's all going according to plan. What about things on your side?"

"Three cars destroyed, ten deaths confirmed." Reito's expression darkened. "What is it?"

"Ten?"

The car rounded a right corner and the bridge came into view, along with the black smoke rising in the air and the lifeless city in the background.

Natsuki's eyes widened as she saw the car speeding at them from the right. The warning shout was left stuck in her throat as the vehicle rammed them and pushed them off the road through the guardrail, following them down in a slide down a rocky slope. The terrain was part of the artificial ground elevation, on which the bridge was built. It was covered with small rocks and gravel, making the speed of the slide more violent, and because of that the two vehicles didn't overturn.

Yamada, the right side of his body nearly crushed, tried to manoeuvre the car out of the other vehicle's way. He slammed his foot on the gas-pedal and made the car spin, letting the Searrs car pass them. Natsuki grabbed the hand-break and pulled it so viciously it broke and was left in her hand. The two vehicles came to a halt in a drift.

In a daze Natsuki looked at the back seat. The guard on Kanzaki's right was a bloody mess, while the Obsidian Prince himself and his ninja guardian were unconscious. Akira's eyelids twitched, but she didn't come to. On Natsuki's right Yamada groaned and slowly turned his head towards her. He coughed and wheezed for air. Natsuki bit her lip and turned to observe her own sorry state. The safety belt had managed to save her from further damage, though she wasn't in her best shape either. She pulled at the belt until she was free and pushed her door open.

"Yamada," she turned towards him with her hand outstretched. "Grab on, I'm gonna pull us out."

He shook his head and agonizingly coughed. "Get out of here. The car might explode."

"They didn't damage our engine, it'll be fine," she argued and suppressed the need to growl in pain.

_**Tick-tock.**_

Reito groaned in the back.

"I knew your mother," Yamada said out of the blue. "Sakomizu and I worked together to help her get away with you and the research."

"I figured as much," Natsuki confessed, seeing that no matter what she said the man had set his mind on doing what he wanted. He barked a laugh and groaned.

"Smart child. Listen, last night I returned to your account a good part of the money you've paid me over the years."

"Aw, you getting sentimental, old man?"

"Hah, shitty kid, what good's all that money to a dead man?"

"What makes you believe _I'll_ live long enough to use them?"

She noticed the bags under his eyes and all of his wrinkles now, more visible in his current state. His eyes were locked somewhere ahead in the distance. She followed the same line and was greeted by the sight of the sun setting behind Fuuka's tall buildings. Not far below them grey smoke was coming out of what Natsuki assumed was Smith's car.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Yamada spoke, his lips hardly moving. Natsuki grunted in reply. "What, you've no appreciation for this kind of things? You're a girl, you know."

"It's not that," she gulped as another jolt went through her. "It is beautiful. And we've the best seats in the house."

"Fitting for an old man's resting place, don't you think?"

"Yamada…"

"But it's not yours. Let me be, child. I'm just another piece of your past. Go get rid of the last remainder and leave that part of your life behind," his eyes closed. "Natsuki, it may… not mean much to you, but… I've known you since you were little and... you made me proud."

_If only you knew…_

She didn't have to look at him to know he wasn't breathing anymore. There was shuffling behind her.

"Natsuki-san," Reito's solemn voice assured her that he was okay. "There's movement down at the other car. But I'm afraid I can't move without help," Reito groaned as he tried to free his foot from between his crushed man's body and the front seat. Akira was still unconscious. Natsuki rolled her eyes.

"Neither can I, pretty boy," she mumbled as she heaved herself out of the car using her hands. She winced from her stab-wound and fell on the ground. Crawling she came into view of the other car. Smith had also made it out, now on all four, coughing for air. Natsuki found comfort that he was also a mess. She pushed herself to a sitting position, pulled her gun out and pointed it at his balding head.

"Don't move a muscle, you bastard."

* * *

"What happened?" Mai grabbed the sniper rifle out of Nina's hands and sped to the edge of the bridge. She lifted the weapon and searched the crash-sight through the scope. What she saw on the side of the road were two cars, now nothing more than scrap-material. Greyish smoke was rising from one of them. After further inspection she made out two wounded people close to the damaged vehicles. She silently cursed – she was too far to be able to hit.

"Natsuki!" she shouted through her device. "Do you hear me?"

"_Mai-san," _she heard Reito's weak voice. _"Is that you?"_

"Reito-san! What-?"

"_Listen, you need to get us out of here fast. Akira and I are stuck in our car and while it's likely it won't blow up, I can't say the same for the other," _he paused to cough. _"Natsuki-san's comm device is still inside the car, so she can't ask you for assistance herself. I can't ask for reinforcements right now. Please, get here ASAP!"_

"I understand!" Mai twisted around and ran to the others, who were already getting ready to go. Unfortunately, due to the previous engagement on the bridge, they couldn't use the vans to get there – the road was blocked. They would have to reach the site on foot.

"Those who can be of help, get a move on!" the second-in-command ordered. Mikoto, Haruka, Midori, Yohko, Kazuya, Arika and Nina readily came to her side. "Where're Nao-chan and Shizuru-san?"

"Already set off," Chie shrugged. "Go, we'll take care of things here."

* * *

Smith sneered at her.

"What are you going to accomplish by killing me here? Don't you realize that I'm just one man? That John Smith is just a title?!"

Natsuki regarded him with calm she didn't know she could experience in such a situation. She didn't waver even though she felt the effect of the serum fading and with it, her consciousness. The beat of her heart was gradually slowing down, the pain in her leg growing.

"Of course I do. What I'm doing now is sweeping off every speck of Searrs from Fuuka city, so that it can shine again," she swallowed, her throat dry. "Nothing of you will remain, understand? It's only fitting for you to die by the hands of someone like me. No-one will obey you anymore."

Searrs's top agent started laughing.

"You know, Ms Natsuki, humans have a very interesting trait," Smith kept smiling, blood trickling down his chin. "They tend to _bend_ at the knees. They don't know how not to obey! Do you think Searrs will let this end like this? The people don't have what it takes to fight back. Soon you'll be overwhelmed!"

"Oh?"

"Even if you've joined hands with the First District, you won't be able to stop us!" he screamed at her. "You may have cut off a head of the Searrs Organization, but many more remain, ready to bite you to death. We are a huge organization and the other branches and the headquarters won't easily let go of their research and resources in Fuuka. I was but the vanguard your destruction!"

"I'm not impressed. What resources, _Governor_? Do you perhaps mean the flowing underground money from the drugs and weapons?" Natsuki let a smug expression wash over her face as she watched Smith going pale in realization. "You didn't possibly think that T.N.T., a powerful player, has no influence over the whole cycle? Why would T.N.T. let such an opportunity slip by? You're probably aware that ninety per cent of the financing of your projects comes from the drug deals. And who do you think runs the whole thing?"

"The gangs," Smith whispered disbelievingly, his eyes wide with terror. Natsuki nodded.

"Exactly. And which gang holds most power, with the Golden Era gone?"

"Why, you little-"

"Lately there was a power-struggle in the underground market between T.N.T.'s free-lance weapon and drug dealers and the Golden Era. But the Golden Era's running force was your android and her charge. As we all know, she came to my side." Natsuki ignored the lump in her throat, formed by just thinking about Alyssa. "Do you know how quickly clients and priorities change?"

"But T.N.T. stood for your stupid ideals!" Smith slammed his fist against the gravel. "You're telling me that all the faceless competitors in the underground were _your _people?"

Natsuki slowly nodded. His surprise and anger faded into a mad grin.

"So the person who's been fighting all this time against organized crime is one of the biggest criminals of them all?" He made a sharp intake of breath as no reaction came from the gang leader. "Tell me, does your morale code make it hard to sleep at night, while you know you're half-responsible for the deaths of all those drug-addicts and victims caught in shoot-outs?"

"I did what had to be done in order to stop you. I'll sleep when I'm dead."

_That may not be too far…_

"So after you kill me, you think you'll be able to regain control of Fuuka?"

"Woe to the poor city if that were ever to happen! No, the Obsidian Prince – who by the way is not dead as you all thought – will take on that role for me," she briefly basked in the shocked silence. "I know what you're thinking: Searrs won't stand for this. Wrong again. Last night Fujino Group kept buying stocks until it possessed the controlling stakes of Iwasaka Pharmaceuticals – the cover you're using here for Searrs."

At first Natsuki had thought she could live with shouldering all of the blame and crimes. But then it became obvious she couldn't do everything on her own – she needed help from a powerful player. At the time the only person who had enough influence in the high corporate levels and was on her side was Shizuru. Shizuru, who was in the possession of a reasonable part of stocks from her family's company and who would do anything to be of assistance. Natsuki had swallowed her pride, gritted her teeth and asked Shizuru to put her financial future on a map. It had been risky, but the financiers in Fujino Group had seen the slim chance for profit and grasped it.

"Then they re-sold them to the Obsidian Prince. In other words your branch of the Searrs Organization now belongs to the New First District. All of the leading officers will be replaced and it will change its agenda. The new governor will become the loved by all Himeno Fumi – the ex-director of the biggest and most prosperous Academy in the whole country."

"The Searrs commanding brass…"

"Yeah, about that; a little bird told me the brass meeting's in three months. Until then the people at the headquarters will have no idea that you've been replaced. They will be fed false reports and by the time they notice something's wrong, it would be too late. Fuuka had a closed-off ruling policy to begin with, so nobody's going to give it a second thought," Natsuki paused. "This time it's your loss, Smith."

She watched him icily as he struggled to get up, but fell on the ground, groaning and clutching his side.

"Are you so devoted to Searrs that you'd launch a suicide attack?"

"Yes," he wheezed, looking up with blood-shot eyes. "Another John Smith would have come and taken you down. Searrs will win in the end."

"I'd like to see them try. They won't set a foot in Fuuka again, that's for sure."

"Why did you tell me all of this?" he asked, mildly surprising her. "After losing so much, why didn't you kill me the instant you pointed that gun at me?"

Natsuki didn't answer at first. Her ears were ringing and her eyesight was starting to blur, darkness already creeping in on her. She wasn't even sure why she was still conscious as the muscle spasms were becoming more and more frequent. As it was, she was barely keeping herself from dropping her weapon with a cry of agony and succumbing to the unknown.

"I wanted to hear the realization in your voice that you've been completely beaten, to see the desperation in your eyes, to make you suffer like I did," she darkly chuckled. "Didn't you know that the villain loves to reveal the grand plan at the end?"

"Was it worth it? You… Miyu must have given you that medicine. You're going to die, you know," he laughed along with her. "Did you really need to throw away your body just to kill me?"

"Your organization has always threatened me and my friends. You were one of the people responsible for my mother's death. You killed my father, though I think I'll have to thank you," she excruciatingly sucked in a breath. Her hand remained steady. "But then you ordered the death of Miyu Greer and Alyssa.

"You know, I… considered letting you live before meeting you. I thought _'Hey, he's just another worm who's being used by Searrs. He might prove useful'._ However you proved me wrong, so let's say you put the rope around your neck and tightened it yourself. You're one loose end I'm not letting go. Hell will freeze all over before I do that."

"I guess I'll see you there soon, then."

Natsuki pulled the trigger. Her gun fired and John Smith was no more. He crumpled to the ground without uttering a scream or a curse, his existence ending with no trace of honour.

_Serves him right._

* * *

Nao tripped, but caught herself before falling. She and Shizuru had headed for the crash site as soon as they heard the commotion. They didn't need to coordinate with anyone to know that something had gone terribly wrong. Their suspicions were proven right just by the fact that they had received no communication from Natsuki.

When Reito contacted Mai the two girls were already half-way to their destination, still running like mad.

"Fujino!" Shizuru, who was running just a bit ahead, turned to look at her. "Let's hurry!"

She nodded and sped up with Nao following closely. They could see the two vehicles now clearly and two lone figures on the gravel.

Nao let her thoughts drift back to what had been said the night before. Even if she hated Kuga and everything she did, that time she had to agree with her decision. When she and Reito learned that Natsuki had secretly kept and fully exploited all of her underground connections they were outright shocked. Nao had recovered more quickly, as she began to see the cold calculating logic behind Natsuki's actions. She was used to it by now.

_It's always the innocent that die first._

Then Nao understood how awfully much Kuga had sacrificed to attain her goal. The gang leader had been serious from the very start and had kept true to her word that she would do anything in order to stand victorious. Nao had developed a strange relationship with the other girl and had grown to know her better. She had found out that Natsuki wasn't the deeply cruel person she had originally thought her to be. And even if the gang leader was doing her best to prove her wrong, Nao knew evil when she saw it.

No, Kuga wasn't evil, just driven. And what drove her at first was a thirst for revenge; however all of her friends noticed that this had changed over time. Her priorities began to shine in a different light, as she pulled them out from the dirt and polished them. Nao still hated her for not being honest; not that she had received any medals for the act of sincerity either. What she hated the most about Natsuki was that they were so similar and yet worlds apart.

But at the end of the day, after all the fights (some verbal, others taken to a physical level) they would laugh it off and share a stupid conversation or just sit in silence on the school's roof. Then Kuga would walk off to take care of some unfinished business and Nao would lazy around and maybe fall asleep for a bit.

Nao sneaked a peek at Shizuru. The student council president had a determined expression, not a trace of exhaustion showing. The freshman wondered if that was what it meant to be in love – to push yourself beyond your limits for your most precious person. To show no fear, to act without hesitation, to give everything you have just so you know you'd be loved in return.

She didn't know yet. At first she had thought she had a crush on Natsuki, but was proven wrong in time. The two of them simply were not a healthy combination. Nao didn't have the strength to chuckle at her own foolishness; at the time she had been truly worried she might have fallen for the cunning Kuga. She had been somewhat disgusted with herself, but not because they were both girls. No, it was because she saw so much of herself in Natsuki that it made her want to change.

Nao's thoughts were interrupted by the lone gun shot that reverberated through the air. She and Shizuru came to a halt at the broken guardrail and stared down. Smith was lying dead in a grotesque heap, blood pooling under him, and Natsuki was holding a gun with a shaking hand. Suddenly she let it go and fell back. Reito was banging on the car's window, Akira slumped against his shoulder.

The two girls plunged down in a half-slide, half-run and while Nao went for the car, Shizuru continued down towards Natsuki.

"Hang on, Kanzaki!" Nao pulled on the door. As it wouldn't budge, she slid in through the open front door and tried helping by freeing his foot. Reito growled as he finally wringed it out and nodded gratefully at Nao. Just as they started moving Akira, they heard an anguished scream and their heads shot in the direction it had come from.

* * *

The salty wind kissed Natsuki's cheeks before she finally gave in and fell back. She gasped as her whole body suddenly felt on fire. The taste of copper filled her mouth, tears of anger and grief stung at her eyes, and a scream ripped out of her throat. Clutching at her chest she struggled to breathe, but her lungs refused to assist her in the effort. Abruptly she was pulled out of her misery for a second by the sound of her name.

"Natsuki!"

_Shizuru?_

Then it all came again, the pain forcefully submerging her in blackness.

_That's no good._

She tried to move, but simply couldn't.

_No, no! My body can still move, my hand can still reach. _

"Natsuki!"

_I promised her I'd always come back!_

Her right hand twitched and she slowly lifted it, wanting to grasp at something, anything that would help her reach Shizuru.

_That's one promise I won't break._

Two warm hands caught it and Natsuki immediately felt safe. She turned to look at Shizuru's teary ruby eyes.

_So beautiful. Have I ever told her that they are just like the sunset?_

"Shizu…ru?"

"I'm here, Natsuki," her beloved pressed her cheek to Natsuki's cold hand. Tears stung at the still healing skin, but Natsuki paid them no heed. All pain was forgotten for one moment of eternity as she gazed up at the only reason she wanted to keep struggling in this world.

"I'm… I'm back."

* * *

A ragged sob escaped from Shizuru's lips as she saw the carefree smile on Natsuki's scratched and bruised face. She shook with every breath, the state Natsuki was in sinking in more and more. The first thing Shizuru had noticed was the girl's hand – pieces of skin were simply missing, while the remaining was an angry red. She knew she had to let go, but just couldn't and she kept her firm grip.

Her gaze travelled down from her beloved's weakly shining emerald eyes and she instantly noticed her bandaged shoulder, traces of maroon visible on the white fabric. Natsuki was wearing laboratory garments, all torn and tattered with patches of dirt, more dried blood, and burns. She was a mess.

"What happened to you, Natsuki?" Shizuru gently removed a clotted lock from her lover's eyes and swallowed a cry when she felt Natsuki's whole body tensing and convulsing in pain. A suppressed groan came out of the girl's throat and she opened her mouth, at first not being able to say anything coherent at first.

"Shizuru," she gasped. "I… I couldn't save them all."

"It's alright, Natsuki. It's alright," Shizuru kept repeating as she heard approaching voices. "Listen, we need to move you away from here. There might be an explosion."

"Then… run," Natsuki's brows creased. "It's too late for me."

Shizuru willed her tears to stop and she wiped the traces away. She had to stay strong.

"Don't say that. You made it all the way here. Don't give up!"

"That's… not something I can just decide on my own, you know?" she tried chuckling, but she broke into coughs.

"Natsuki's always been selfish, so that won't be a problem."

Mai and Yohko slid to a stop beside them and wasted no time in helping Shizuru in lifting Natsuki up. The gang leader groaned and bit her lip to blood when they heaved her up by her hands and legs. They mounted her on Yohko's back, the doctor being the tallest of them three, and carried her up.

When they reached the road they were greeted by horrified gasps. Nao, Reito and Akira were already waiting, the three of them gravely observing how the rest piled around Natsuki's form. Shizuru didn't move from her side, unheeding the others who kept telling her to let the doctor do her job.

"I've just been able to reach my men," Shizuru recognized Reito's voice in the commotion. "They've sent help."

"Compliments on the timing, Kanzaki," dryly commented Nao.

"Kanzaki," Natsuki rasped, startling everybody that she was conscious. "You… follow the plan."

"If you're not there to pull me back, Natsuki-san, how can you be sure I will?" Reito seemed to ignore the looks his question provoked. For the first time Midori appeared ready to pummel him.

"No worries. I will, pretty boy," Nao lowly said as she pointedly continued to look everywhere else except at Natsuki. "I promised."

"Akane and the rest," Kazuya came closer to Natsuki as she gasped the words out, "are safe. Except… for Takata… He…"

"Save it for later," the boy smiled, his eyes wet with gratitude. "Thank you."

"Don't… thank me yet," she swallowed and her lips trembled as she kept talking. "Shizuru, I'm sorry for… getting you so involved."

She gave a quiet, tearless sob. "You… were supposed to stay clean. I-I dragged you down."

"No, I-"

"I'm so, so sorry."

Shizuru couldn't find any words to form a reply, and instead she chose to mutely observe Yohko trying to determine the reason why Natsuki's condition was worsening by the second. The student council president jolted as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and was faced with Haruka's hard, but reassuring stare. If she could have, she would've smiled at the comforting act of her self-proclaimed rival, but all she did was stare blankly.

Mikoto offered silent support to Mai who was also kneeling beside the doctor, anxiety and worry written all over her face.

And when, under the sounds of the approaching cars, Sagisawa Yohko announced that Natsuki's heart had stopped beating, Shizuru's world froze all over.


	34. Chapter 34 END

_**A/N: I'll leave a longer note at the end, since I don't want to keep you waiting with reading a block of text in the beginning. I'd advise you read the chapter thoroughly before making up your mind about it. You'll maybe notice that the PoV is handled a bit differently. Only a bit.**_

_** Well then, have a pleasant read with the last installment!**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai-HiME/Otome.**

* * *

Mai timidly knocked on the mahogany door. She was invited to come in. Reito was standing some distance away from her, with his hands folded behind his back, while he gazed down from the window of the tallest administrative building in Fuuka city. He didn't turn to look at her and she took it as a sign to make herself comfortable in the chair in front the young man's dark desk. She fidgeted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable in this huge and cold office.

"Would you like something to drink, Mai-san?" he finally addressed her and turned towards her with a smile. She greeted him with the same, as she was able to tell that he wasn't insincere.

"Yes, thank you. Tea would be nice."

Reito nodded and ordered some before circling around his desk and coming to stand directly in front of her. "Why don't we sit over there? The last thing I want to do is treat you like a business partner."

He gestured at a table with two armchairs at the corner of the vast room. Mai quickly scurried over to them, provoking a light laugh from Reito. She turned to glare at him with a faint blush. A woman brought in the promised tea and excused herself.

The two of them helped themselves to the hot brew and drank silently. Mai couldn't bring herself to break the silence.

"This isn't how I imagined my last year of high school," Reito jested with a shadow of sadness in his eyes. "Could you tell me how Mikoto's doing? Lately I can't seem to be able to get a hold of her."

"Just fine, now that things have settled back to normal. It's… been a year, after all."

"Yes, it has. What do you think of the new headmaster?" he couldn't hide his humour, which made Mai smile.

"I don't know if headmaster Sakomizu is too happy with his new post. He can't take care of his flowers anymore," she let out a laugh, glad that she could lead a normal conversation with Reito again. She cleared her throat. "Yesterday I saw governor Himeno on the news."

"Ah, Nagi's having a blast writing her speeches and Mashiro's enjoying their company, like always. I daresay Himeno Fumi was born to be somebody's puppet," he smiled apologetically at the followed-up frown. "I'm sorry. Maybe I should keep such thoughts to myself."

"Ah, no!" Mai busied herself with her empty cup. "And how… have you been, Reito-san?"

He relaxed back in his chair as his expression softened more. Mai realized that this was the most honest smile he had ever shown her. She felt her cheeks heat up.

"Physically, I'm top-notch. I've a lot of work though – I've to keep the fragile peace we managed to obtain these past months. After we drove Searrs away the crime rate went down a bit, but in the recent weeks different… individuals have started to act up. Nothing serious though. And with the help of the five SENYU I have command over… Let's say I've nothing to worry about. I think Searrs have given up on Fuuka for good," he refilled their cups.

"While I'm glad that you're the one watching over us," Mai quietly began, "I didn't receive an answer to my question."

Reito sighed.

"Truthfully? Natsuki-san was right. The top is the loneliest place on Earth. Though I'm trying my best not to go insane." He gazed at the steam rising from his tea. "And how's everybody dealing with…?"

Mai shook her head, her eyes closed.

"Sagisawa-sensei said she suffered too much. Despite the fact that we received the original formula for the serum, it was hellishly complex to try and devise a counter-medicine from it," she paused for a moment and met his sympathetic eyes. "But even if she were to recover physically, the doctor said it would be more of a question of whether she would've had the will to wake up. I sometimes wonder if she simply wanted it all to end with her."

"She… Mai-san, if I were in her place I wouldn't have wanted to wake up and face all of you," Reito quietly confessed, provoking a bewildered look. "I can't go into details, but some of the things she did and the decisions she made… they're hard to live with. But then again, she's the most stubborn person I've met."

The small smile returned to Mai's face. "Then you haven't spent enough time with Shizuru-san or Nao-chan."

"I'd gladly spend a calm afternoon with the former, but I've my reservations towards Yuuki-san," his laugh infected Mai as well.

They chatted two hours away before Mai noticed the time and jumped to her feet, apologizing.

"I still can't figure whether it's good or not," Reito hesitantly ventured before the girl could leave, "that life continues, regardless of the participants."

"Any regrets, Reito-san?"

"Only one."

He didn't need to say what it was.

"Maybe… maybe I should bring you lunch next time we meet?"

"Please do, I'll be looking forward to it!"

* * *

Nao rested her chin on her palm as she stared out of the window during a particularly boring class of ancient Japanese literature. While the teacher rambled on and on about how much free time the aristocrats of the Heian period had on their hands, Nao thought back to events not too long ago.

_It's that time of the year again._

After the small war had ended and all of the political bullshit had been dealt with, life had hit her with the full consequences of her actions. She was behind on her studies and her attendance record was low, which meant that she couldn't obtain a scholarship. At the moment she was relying only on the relief funds given to orphans and the small sum she was receiving for her part-time job as a nun at the campus' church. That duty wasn't her first choice, but the bastard Sakomizu had given her no other option. But even if it was hard, things had started looking up for her.

The Bridge club had long been suspended, its members going their separate ways. Nao still met with them on occasion, but they all tended to keep their distance from each other. The only people she met up with were Mai, Mikoto, Chie and, of course, her own roommate Aoi. And the idiot-trio, with whom she shared most of her classes, but she had never counted them as a part of the club. From time to time she would catch a glimpse of Fujino and the Executives, but Kanzaki was all but gone. And… another huge part of her daily life was gone.

The bell rang and she quickly made her way to the door, eager to climb up to the roof and have lunch in peace. Of course, somebody had to stop her.

"Nao-san?"

"What is it, Yumemiya?" she turned to regard the girl with agitation.

"I was wondering… All of this time I couldn't bring myself to ask you, but what hap-?"

A hand was slapped over the surprised girl's mouth, preventing her from finishing her question. She muffled in protest and Nina finally let go. Nao would've smiled if she was in the mood. For the past months she wasn't.

"None of your business," she crossed her arms and looked away from her two classmates. "Would've been easier for her to have just died that time. Instead..."

"Nao-san…" Nina's soft tone felt calming to her ears. She hadn't heard her name being called out like that in a very long time. Nao thought that maybe she could try and talk more with her dark-haired classmate. And also, Nina held a slight resemblance to a certain someone.

"My granny once said that dying is like going to a deep and peaceful sleep," Arika added, a shade hopefully, successfully ruining the moment.

"I don't know. I've done neither of those," Nao irritably shot back before turning her back to them and sliding out of the room.

Her trip to the roof was uneventful. When she climbed the final flight of stairs, she opened the door and was greeted with the chilly air. Soon, she wouldn't be able to eat alone like this. She pulled a sandwich from her bag and chewed on it, while she watched the passing clouds. The wind blew and she shivered.

Was this what peace was supposed to feel like? If everything had played out according to plan, what was this feeling of emptiness? She was sure that there were remaining pieces to be fixed here and there, but it wasn't her job to meddle.

_And when has that stopped you?_

An idea sneakily wormed its way in her head. It gnawed at her until she decided to give it serious consideration.

_Let Kanzaki deal with the big-shots. I'm going to get some things done my own way._

Nao finished her sandwich and headed back inside. She was tempted to skip the rest of the classes, but she had to work harder on her records. The long-forgotten flame of excitement sparked to life in her chest.

* * *

Shizuru patiently sat through the meeting of the student council. The Head-executive was doing all the talking again, which meant that the only thing she was required to do was to nod and at the end deny all of Haruka's outrageous requests.

_"I see the Executives finally caught you," Shizuru took a sip from her steaming green tea and smiled at the rumoured Ice Princess, who regarded her with a scowl._

_"You've got quite the reputation going on about you," she continued, determined to get to know better the girl she had met last night. _

_"Said the person who's known throughout the whole campus," Natsuki grumbled in return. "Looks like you also got caught, though."_

_Shizuru sighed and put her cup down on the surface of the desk. As it was, they were both waiting for the student council president to come and give out their punishment. _

_"What, they saw you sneaking about last night?" the dark-haired girl rested her chin on her arms. _

_"Unfortunately." Shizuru sneaked a glance at her peer. She was taken aback by the colour of her eyes – never before had she seen such a shade of green. "I don't think I thanked you for saving me, Kuga-han."_

_Natsuki snorted and shrugged. "You bothered to protect that dog, right? I'd say we're even."_

_"Was he yours?"_

_"Not really. I fed him a couple of times and he followed me to campus. I suppose he found somewhere to hide during the day."_

_"Oh…"_

_Snizuru remembered the poor animal and her heart clenched. Last night, when she was sneaking back in campus, she had spotted the shaggy dog being harassed by a group of drunken upperclassmen at the car-park. _

_She was returning from a long walk around the forest near the city – a walk which should have ended hours ago. Instead, Shizuru had lost track of time (falling asleep under the comfortable shade of a maple tree) and had been forced to run for the last bus. She usually left the campus when she needed some alone time – something her growing fan-club didn't let her have. This time she had outdone herself, though. _

_It was past midnight when she heard the incoherent shouts and laughs, and the whimpering of a dog. She dared to follow the sounds and was met with the sight of four high school third-years kicking the defenceless animal._

_Even if she was alone and knew that stepping-up for the abused dog would only get her in trouble, Shizuru wasn't one to stand idly by in such situations. She ran up to the group and just when one of her seniors was about to hit the animal again, she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. He yelped in surprise – his breath reeking of alcohol – and tried to push her away, but failed due to her training and his drunken movements. His other three friends turned sloppily to face her. Shizuru shoved the boy at them and he fell to the ground, along with the one who had attempted to catch him. _

_"If it ain't little Fujino-hime," the tallest of them slurred and leaned in towards her. She took a step back. "Whatcha doin' out 'ere so late, eh?"_

_The dog, sensing a saviour in Shizuru's person, limped behind her and collapsed. She threw it a look and cringed. Its blood-stained shaggy fur could be clearly seen in the light of the lamp-post. Shizuru's eyes flicked to the small pocket-knife the boy on the back was holding. The short blade was dark with crimson._

_"Hey, ya listenin'? Answer my question." The boy in front her lifted his hand and she readied herself to defend. Instead, a pebble flew past her and hit him in the eye. He hollered and stumbled back, his palm pressed to the place where the pebble had landed. The other boy narrowed his eyes and stared behind Shizuru, lifting his knife in front of him._

_"There's more where this came from," a calm husky tone announced and Shizuru turned her head. _

_The form of a girl (a tad shorter than her, with the same middle school uniform) emerged from the shadows of the trees growing around the parking lot. She was playing with some pebbles, tossing them in her left hand. Shizuru couldn't at first recognize the girl with the long dark hair, but her eyes widened when she remembered the face of her rumoured classmate. Ice Princess Kuga Natsuki had her brows furrowed and was seething with anger._

_"Who're ya?" the last boy left standing took on a more aggressive stance and Shizuru's attention shifted back towards him. _

_Before he could do anything Natsuki had closed in the distance between them and kicked the knife out of his slackened drunken grip. Shizuru's breath hitched._

When did she-?

_He fell and cursed. His friends were getting to their feet and were glaring dangerously at the two girls. The sound of a whistle cut through the scene. Shizuru glanced at the direction the sound had come from. _

_"What's this commotion all about?!"_

The Executives?

_When she turned to look back at Natsuki, she found with bewilderment that the girl was gone, as was the dog. Only a dark stain was left on the ground they had been. She was pulled out of her stupor by the running steps of the approaching executives._

_"Suzushiro Haruka, Junior executive!" a busty blonde girl announced. She stood at the front of a group of white-clad Executives, some of which were already busy apprehending the third-years. _

_"Ara," Shizuru pinched the bridge of her nose, "what a mess."_

_And now she was sitting in the same room with the person partially responsible for it. She suppressed a yawn; Suzushiro Haruka – the daughter of one of her father's business partners – had done everything in her power to keep Shizuru up all night, demanding an explanation for what had transpired at the parking lot. Finally, after Haruka had seemed somewhat content with the made-up story, Shizuru had been forced to wait for the student council president's judgement._

_"Sorry you got in trouble for this," Natsuki mumbled, effectively startling her. _

_"No, please, don't be," she said after regaining her wits about her. "What happened to the dog?"_

_"It died this morning. They caught me sneaking its body out," the emotionless reply made Shizuru uncomfortable. Her mouth opened and as she was about to offer her condolences, the door of the room slid open and the President walked in. _

"Are you even listening?" Haruka huffed, her hands on her hips. The whole room was staring at them now. Shizuru successfully hid behind her trademark smile the fact that she had been caught day-dreaming.

"Indeed I am," she glanced down at her now cold tea. "But I'm afraid that this session has dragged on long enough. I'll kindly ask you to summarise the main points addressed today and send them via mail to everybody, so that we can continue next week."

"Already done, President," Yukino quietly spoke from the corner she was sitting in. Shizuru gratefully nodded. Making the girl her Vice had been the right decision.

"Thank you, Kikukawa-han. With this I'll disband today's meeting."

Everybody filed out of the room until only Shizuru and Haruka were left. Distant ruby eyes were met with the unrelenting stare of the Executive.

"Soon we'll be graduating."

"Indeed?"

"You need to get your act together, Fujino."

"I'm flattered Suzushiro-han's concerned for my grades," Shizuru said with a joking tone. "I assure you that you needn't worry – I've already been admitted to Fuuka University. The school exams will be just a formality."

Her attempt to change the topic and mood this time failed.

"You could've done much better. Fuuka University by far isn't the best in the country," Haruka scowled. Shizuru silently regarded her for a few moments.

"Would that be all?"

* * *

Her stare was fixed on the empty bed. She had ended up in that man's clinic without thinking. The old male doctor was smoking a cigarette and was silently observing her with a frown on his wrinkled face. He puffed out some smoke and stroked his bald head.

"Fujino-chan, why did you come here?"

She looked at him as if she had just noticed his presence and gave him a fake smile.

"I wanted to thank you for all you've done," she replied in her ladylike manner and bowed. She then fished a package out of her school bag and handed it to the mildly interested man. "This isn't much, but I'd like you to accept it as a token of our gratitude."

He put it on his desk without opening it. Shizuru bowed once more and made her way to the door.

"Fujino-chan?"

"Yes?" She turned around, hand already gripping the handle. The doctor shifted anxiously in his chair.

"The formula for the serum and the devised counter-medicine… how did you get your hands on that?"

His question was met with another smile, telling him he'd never have the complete truth.

"A consensus of sentient androids obtained the formula and sent it to us, because they owed us a favour. Then the school doctor, with the help of a 17-year-old history teacher, worked out the way to create and further develop a treatment for the serum's after-effects," she watched the man's eyes widen disbelievingly. "Was that a satisfactory answer?"

Finally, he snorted with a scowl and waved his hand dismissively. "Get out of here!"

* * *

_Shizuru watched Natsuki limp with determination through the main yard and ran up to her._

"_What happened?" she greeted with a smile. The only reply she received was a grumble and a glare. "Want to talk about it?"_

_Natsuki abruptly stopped and turned towards the smiling school idol. A small crowd was following them from a distance._

"_What's with you and this interest you have in me?" the Ice Princess lowly whispered, weary of the people around them. Shizuru inclined her head and let out a soft laugh._

"_I like you," she easily admitted, forcing a strangled choke from the other girl. "I want to be friends, this is all."_

"… _Are you okay in the head?"_

"_My psychiatrist tells me I am."_

"_You won't leave me alone, will you?" Natsuki narrowed her captivating green eyes and accusingly glowered at her. Shizuru kept smiling._

"_No."_

_Suddenly Natsuki's attitude changed, however the small shift was visible only for Shizuru, who was a very keen observer. A soft sigh escaped the Ice Princess's pale lips and she scratched her neck._

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Certainly!" _

"_Then you can start by calling me Natsuki and by wiping that fake smile off your face."_

_Shizuru was taken aback, but in an instant her shocked expression turned to a genuine beaming smile._

"_My name's Fujino Shizuru," she happily announced, making Natsuki roll her eyes._

"_The whole fucking campus knows who you are!"_

"_Ara, Natsuki! Language!"_

"_Shut up!" _

The afternoon dragged on as Shizuru aimlessly wandered back to her new apartment. She had chosen to leave campus earlier than required in order to get used to her new dwelling before university life hit her with full force. Though her new home lacked in furnishing at the moment, she had acquired some comforts that helped in making it less empty and lonely.

_"Hey! Congrats on making student council president! Everything's going perfectly smooth," Natsuki cheerfully greeted her as she entered through the window. Shizuru turned towards her with a reproachful look, making her friend flinch in mid-climb, one leg folded to her chest, the other hanging outside._

_"What are you doing here?" she hissed quietly and ushered Natsuki inside. Confused emeralds followed her unusually jerky movements._

_"Did… something happen?" the troublemaker asked lowly. Shizuru put a hand to her eyes and shook her head. _

_"No, I… Actually, yes." Her eyes bore into Natsuki, who was now sitting on top of the President's desk. Shizuru didn't miss the fact that the girl was subtly throwing glances at the open database file on the laptop's monitor. She bent forward and closed it, making Natsuki pout at her. _

_"Whatcha do that for?"_

_"We need to be more careful from now on," Shizuru whispered. "I think we're being watched."_

_A frown appeared on Natsuki's face._

_"And you noticed _now_?" she inquired in the same tone. "I can't stop because of something minor like this, Shizuru! If you're scared, I understand, and won't frown at you pulling out. But-"_

_The newly elected student council president pressed her fingers on Natsuki's lips. She quickly withdrew her hand with a startled motion, surprised at her boldness. Natsuki seemed unaffected though._

_"I'm scared, but not for myself!" she heatedly explained. "I'm worried about you, Natsuki."_

_Natsuki gave her an annoyed look and grumbled something among the lines of 'troublesome'. Shizuru resisted the urge to grab her friend by the shoulders and shake her. Didn't she see the danger she was put in? During the short break they were given between the end of middle and the beginning of high school Natsuki rarely rested. Every three days or so she would have a new injury and always refused to tell Shizuru where and how she got hurt._

_"Look out of the window and answer me what you see, if you please."_

_Her classmate complied with a reluctant frown. Green eyes narrowed disbelievingly as Natsuki asked "Is that Sugiura barfing in the bushes?"_

_Shizuru inwardly cringed and sighed animatedly. Sometimes the universe had next to no sense of narrative convenience._

_"You want to warn me not to become like her?"_

_"Not the point I wanted to make," she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Natsuki waited patiently for further elaboration. "Look at all those students and faculty members out there, Natsuki. There's hundreds of them and we don't know whom we can trust!"_

_"I don't need to trust them. I have myself. And you."_

_Shizuru let a smile tug at her lips. "Charmer. But you still don't trust me, do you?"_

_Natsuki gave her a long look. "Wanna go have pizza for lunch?"_

She turned the key in the lock and clicked open the heavy metal door. After shutting and locking it, she kicked off her shoes and turned to face the vast apartment, its walls still naked, some cardboard boxes left unpacked. She quietly made her way to the living room. At this point all it had was a low table and a couch, and a small kitchen. The last sunrays were pooling through the huge window, its curtains pulled to the side. A lone figure sat on the floor, head turned towards the multi-coloured sky.

Shizuru left her bag on the sofa and snuck a glance at the king-sized messy bed in the dark bedroom before moving to stand next to her silent companion.

"Feeling better?" she gracefully lowered herself to the wooden floor. She absent-mindedly noted that she needed to buy a carpet.

"It's that time of the year," Shizuru continued, as no reply followed. This time a glance was sent her way. "Tomorrow's a Saturday and I'm free, so…"

"Hm?"

"Knowing you, I thought you... might want to go out? After all, the weather won't be getting any better."

A slow nod followed her offer.

"Do you have a particular place in mind?"

"Yes, actually."

* * *

Nao had her hands shoved deep in her pockets as she headed back. The graveyard was deserted, as it was a national holiday and it was said to be one of the last sunny and calm days before the winter frost came. A sense of fulfilment was budding inside Nao's chest as she strode with determination.

When she reached the wooden gates she stopped dead in her tracks. Both her brows lifted at the person who was patiently waiting there.

"What're you doing here, Fujino?" Nao asked as she neared her upperclassman.

"Ara," she touched her cheek, a slightly surprised expression dawning on her face. "Didn't you two meet?"

Nao felt her throat go dry and without a second glance, she spun around and ran back where she had come from.

_It can't be!_

She ran up and down the gradins on which the stone tombs of many families lay. Row after row, monument after monument, she madly searched for that one person. And at the very top row of tombs she saw the familiar silhouette.

She quickened her pace and finally stopped a few meters away, catching her breath.

"We buried your ashes here three months ago," Nao finally said. "You just can't stay dead, can you?"

Natsuki, leaning heavily on walking stick, turned to look at her friend. She was wearing a long dark-blue overcoat, buttoned up to her neck and collar pushed up, so that it hid half her face. Her raven-black hair was the same length as it always had been, waving freely in the weak wind. As for her eyes, they had lost some of the spark they held before. If possible, they had become more serious and darker. But they weren't apathetic; no, a deep understanding was lurking behind them.

"I see I wasn't the only one that was laid to rest next to mother," her raspy voice barely reached Nao's ears. The flame-headed girl nodded slowly.

"We decided we'd go ahead and give Alyssa one last chance to be with her family. Sorry for not asking first," she tugged on her jacket's fluffy collar. Natsuki shook her head, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"No, thanks. We all needed this." She paused. "What're you doing here?"

"The same as you – visiting my family."

Realization crept onto Natsuki's stony face. "They gave back your mom's body?"

"Yeah, a few months back," Nao said before she mockingly smiled. "You didn't think I'd actually come to _your_ grave, did you?"

Natsuki indignantly huffed and glared. After a minute of unyielding staring at each other, they broke out in quiet laughter at the same time. They stood motionless for a while.

"When'd you wake up?" Nao asked at long last.

"A few weeks back," Natsuki limped pass her and motioned for her to follow. "I made it back before Shizuru's birthday," she added matter-of-factly.

Nao walked slowly beside her, watching her descend the steps with obvious difficulty. She didn't dare to offer help.

"Most of the ex-gang members think you dead, except for Tokiha, Aoi and Chie," she watched how Natsuki grimaced and stopped, panting. "You okay?"

"I… have trouble walking, breathing, and I get tired easily," she clutched at her heart and took a deep breath. She smiled bashfully. "Guess this is how normal people feel, huh?"

"Yeah, when they're seventy!" Nao sneered at her companion. She was granted another glare in return.

"Life can't be easy, can it?" Natsuki resumed her slow descent.

"Do I hear you complaining you're still alive?"

"Shut your ears, cuz you won't hear the end of it any time soon," the ex-gang leader barked a laugh.

"Kuga," Nao seriously began, her tone enough to make Natsuki stop and look back at her. "One lifetime won't be enough for you to atone for everything you've done."

"I know. That's why I woke up," green eyes pierced Nao with the sheer determination. "Alyssa's death… I can't let her feelings go to waste. I may not have much time to live, but… Oh, don't give me that look! I knew all the risks when I started hunting for revenge, Nao.

"And now that we have a state of peace, I have the duty to look after the legacy left by my family. I plan on helping Kanzaki, actually."

"Give yourself a break," Nao smirked. "I'll be doing some enforcing of my own."

"… Is it going to be the supporting-the-law kind or the kinky kind?"

"Wha-?"

"Cuz I think the kinky kind will suit you better," Natsuki could barely keep a straight face. "Yuuki Nao, the Leather Mistress of Fuuka, the Terror of all men, women and children. You gonna make Mikoto your sidekick? And Mai won't stand for it, so she'll have to become your altruistic maid. Or will you form a special unit with the idiot-squad?"

"Shut up! Just sit back and watch!"

* * *

It was a warm spring morning. An indignant wail resounded in the dormitory's corridor.

"It could be a torture room, or a secret government laboratory, or a hole in space-time continuum!"

"Midori, it's Yuuki-san and Minagi-san's room!"

"See, Yohko? You completely agree with me!"

Sagisawa put her hands on her hips and intently stared at her 17-year-old (this trend was on-going for 5 years now) friend. Midori was holding her head in her hands and was crouching in the corner of the corridor, refusing to move from her spot.

"Why do I need to do this?" the teacher whined helplessly under her friend's reproachful look.

"You're their homeroom teacher!"

"I didn't ask for it! Can't we shove the work onto the student council?"

"Midori-sensei?"

Midori jumped around, her hand pressed on her chest.

"You need to stop sneaking around people!" she pouted at Akira and Takumi, who were both holding paper shopping bags. The two teens regarded her with confusion. The history teacher coughed in her fist and straightened up. Behind her Yohko sighed.

"Anyways, you two know where those troublemakers are off to?" Midori asked, sneaking a glance at the door they were standing in front of. "Since there's nobody in their room, we thought we might help ourselves inside and wait for them in there…"

"We?" the doctor threateningly loomed over her friend's shoulder. Midori stiffened. "It was your idea and since you thought you'd be bored, you made me come along, like I don't have tons of work to do. Then you chickened out!"

Midori sent her a bashful smile and chuckled nervously. Takumi and Akira simply shook their heads, quite used to her antics.

"And why are you looking for them?" the boy inquired, unhidden curiosity in his voice.

"Well, I thought tomorrow will be a good day to go and watch the blossoms?" Midori shuffled in her spot, still being glared at by her friend. "And I needed to talk to them about their future university options, since they didn't show up to any of the events organized to help them choose what's best for them. So, as their homeroom teacher, I'm a bit concerned."

Takumi and Akira shared an unreadable look and then smiled at the discouraged teacher.

"I'm afraid they both have plans for their future. Don't know about tomorrow though," Akira, now wearing a proper girl's high school uniform, inclined her head. "Why don't you call them or ask Wang-san?"

"Can't," Yohko crossed her hands in front of her chest. "She and her friends are also gone for the weekend. We don't know where they went either."

Sudden realization shone on Midori's face so bright, the other three participants in the conversation were almost blinded by it and were deafened by the follow-up reaction.

"They didn't invite meeeeeee! How could they?!"

* * *

"Wanna go out tonight?" Nao leaned in as they walked up the hill.

"Gosh, you're so persistent!" Nina continued to strut ahead, blushing. They could both hear the sound of voices up. Nao only chuckled knowingly and put her hands behind her back. She gazed at the lone cherry blossom tree at the top.

Under it were sitting and arguing Mai and Natsuki. Shizuru was leaning on the tree's trunk, a hand hiding her smile as she watched her lover's hair being pulled by a red from shouting Mai. The angry menace was hitting Natsuki over the head with an empty plastic bottle, while the victim tried to pry the girl off. It didn't seem she was putting a lot of effort, though. Mikoto had already run up to the three friends and was joyfully jumping around. Mai stopped her assault to greet the energetic girl and Natsuki used the opportunity to slip away.

"Hey, what's the commotion all about?" Nao lazily raised her voice and all heads turned towards her. Everybody, except Natsuki, smiled and waved. The ex-gang leader regarded her with boredom, but it was a secret to no-one she was happy to see her. They hadn't met in a month, after all.

"Hasn't she told you?" Mai pointed an accusing finger towards Natsuki, who scratched her cheek and looked away. Nao lifted a brow.

"Told me what?"

Her question was met with a heavy silence, which was broken when Nina greeted everybody, albeit a bit awkwardly. Shizuru beamed at them as she shuffled through a basket and offered them rice-balls.

"Can't we have a nice, quiet cherry-viewing for once?" Natsuki asked, her voice unusually low. She coughed and shifted in her spot. Her cane was lying next to her on the blue blanket. Nao plopped herself in front of her and crossed her legs.

"Then pull out the booze already," she demanded, knowing perfectly well that she would be one of the first to get drunk. If somebody wanted to note that, they had kept it to themselves. Natsuki offered her a bottle and a small cup.

"Pour, Kuga. You're the host, since you invited us here." Nao shoved the cup in Natsuki's face and, as was predicted, it was swatted away. Natsuki glowered at her.

"Help _yourself_, Zhang," she threateningly said. Shizuru gently sat next to her and rubbed a hand on her back, then leaned in closer. Natuski's expression immediately softened and she lovingly glanced at the other girl. Nao rolled her eyes.

"Why'd you choose Zhang, anyway?" she asked, while absent-mindedly watching the others choosing places to sit under the tree's shade. Natsuki smirked.

"It means 'cockroach' in Chinese," she declared and crossed her arms, as she observed the different shades of pink that Nao displayed on her face.

"I thought you liked to call me a spider!"

"The word's too long."

The soon-to-be-graduate threw a rice ball at Natsuki's face; the attack was efficiently dodged.

"Ara, Yuuki-han shouldn't waste food," Shizuru playfully chided. Everybody laughed.

In the distance they could hear Midori and doctor Sagisawa arguing. When they turned their attention to them, they saw Takumi, Akira, Irina and Arika trailing behind them, chatting excitedly.

Nao drowned her cup and sneaked a peek at Mai. Both of them exchanged knowing looks; something was wrong.

* * *

Mai was lying on her back giggling at nothing at particular, while Mikoto snored on her chest. Chie and Aoi, having arrived at the midst of the mayhem, were also sprawled on the grass, gazing at the stars and talking (slurring) quietly to each other. The others were pretty much in similar positions around the cherry-tree, all lost in their own world. The night wind blew through the blossoms and swept some away in the dark.

Natsuki, her back against the trunk, watched them until they were out of her sight and sighed. She weaved her fingers through Shizuru's tresses, as her beloved had laid her head in Natsuki's lap and had fallen asleep.

_For the future head of Fujino Group, she sure looks innocent and relaxed, _Natsuki mused and lifted a cup to her lips. She halted her motion when she noticed a figure was sneakily approaching her, a bit wobbly in the legs.

"Hey, Kuga." For once Nao was considerate of the situation and made as little noise as possible when she crouched down next to her friend. "What's all this about?"

"I hear your vigilantes are wreaking havoc in Kanzaki's perfect little system," Natsuki quietly spoke, now again staring ahead. She completely ignored Nao's question. "Which is a good thing, since he needs to remember where he stands."

"I was thinking yesterday…"

"Astounding."

"Say, if Kanzaki were to screw up, what should we do?"

"Kill him, obviously," the reply came without a second's hesitation. Nao wasn't surprised.

"Hm. How?"

"I don't know, you think of something this time."

"Poison," Nao replied with a satisfied smile; she could picture it already. Though she hadn't given much thought to what she'd do after another city leader died.

"Oh? Poison?"

"Yeah. Death by poison – it can be hidden behind something else. It's much harder to claim that his guts simply spilled out, you know," she paused. "Though, I really hope for Tokiha's sake that we won't need to go that far."

"Me too."

Another pregnant pause followed. Nao sleepily turned her head to look at Natsuki. She had a distant look on her face, as she continued to stroke the sleeping girl's head. Her right leg was bent in an unusual way. There was something Nao noticed, even in the moonlight.

"You've got quite the few grey hairs, granny. Watch out, or Arika will turn you into a role model, citing you everywhere."

They both shared a muffled laugh. The wind blew again and they shivered; it dropped a single petal in Natsuki's drink. She looked down at it.

"Since I woke up," she started in a melancholic voice, "a lot has happened, hasn't it? Kanzaki pretty much pulled everything together, Mai and Shizuru graduated and are now in university, you started your own little squad… And I could only help with commanding the SENYU; only small things."

"Yeah, like that time when you rammed an ice-cream truck in those thugs' car. Remember, the ones that had tried robbing the central bank?" Nao played with a blade of grass. "That was insane, by the way. I don't know how Fujino let you off the hook."

"She didn't," Natsuki visibly winced.

_"What were you thinking?" _

_Natsuki cringed in her favourite spot on the couch. This time Shizuru was really angry. _

_"You weren't thinking at all, were you?"_

_They were both in Shizuru's apartment, the evening after Natsuki's escapade with the ice-cream truck. Shizuru was standing in front of her cowering girlfriend, her hands on her hips, as her eyes were burning a hole through the other's head. Natsuki licked her lips._

_"The police wasn't going to make it there in time. Our savings were also endangered, you know," she tried to defend. Shizuru's expression softened and she exasperatedly sighed. Sometimes Natsuki admired how composed she was in public and how her behaviour took a one-hundred-and-eighty when they were alone. This time, however, that admiration was the last thing on her mind._

_Shizuru sat on the couch, making Natsuki instinctively slightly pull away. _

_"I know you can't stand sitting and doing nothing, Natsuki," Shizuru leaned back and turned to look at her. "But your health…"_

_"Won't get any better. I want to be of help! After all the shit we went through, after all those deaths, if I don't continue giving my everything, what point would there be in me surviving?" Natsuki curled her fist. "I need to make most of my time!"_

_"Then be with me!" _

_Natsuki was taken aback when she was faced with such an outburst by the other girl. Shizuru was on the verge of tears, determined to not let them spill out. _

_"I… I will," she heard herself say. "I'm sorry I let myself forget how much you also suffered."_

_Shizuru silently watched her, not moving a muscle. This was obviously something, which had bothered her for a long time. Natsuki wanted to hit herself over the head with a brick for being so insensitive towards the most important person in her life. Shizuru deserved so much more. And she was going to get it._

"That's not what I'm trying to get to. What I mean is that I frequently find myself wondering whether I really carried on with Miyu and Alyssa's will. Whether I was able to do something to redeem myself."

"Have you-," Nao bit her lip. "Have you talked to Fujino about this? You know I'm not that good with the touchy-feely parts of our relationship."

Natsuki merely smiled.

"Nao, it was a miracle I managed to wake up and that I made it this far. This body did its best for the last three years," she at last turned to look at her friend's confused face. "I know I don't have much left. I've been wandering like a ghost, saying my good-byes, making sure not to leave any unfinished business; but now it's finally time to let go. I fixed what I could."

"You're taking the easy way out, aren't you?" Nao choked at the end of her question, but still managed to cover the slip-up. Natsuki shook her head.

"It's not so easy. I already died once, before I was pulled back."

"How was it? Dying, I mean."

"Hah, not telling," Natsuki played with the petal floating on her drink's surface. She finally put her cup down, not taking that sip. "That's something you'll have to experience for yourself. It happens once in a lifetime, after all."

"You just said you already died once."

"I was lucky, I guess?"

Nao stretched and pulled herself up. She popped her neck and yawned. Her eyes flickered to Nina's sleeping form, next to Arika; she decided to cover them with a blanket and get to sleep herself.

"Was that the reason why Tokiha was acting up earlier?" Nao turned to look back at the couple at the base of the tree. Natsuki nodded and Nao chuckled. "You probably dropped it instead of a 'hello', didn't you?"

"You know me," Natsuki spared her a crooked smile.

"Fujino okay with all of this?"

Nao stood there, watching how her friend glanced down at her lover, still gently tracing her fingers over Shizuru's hair. At long last emerald met with lime, as an answer wasn't needed to be spoken.

"Do you want me to gather the idiots up?" Nao asked, her mind blank.

"No, don't. Let them stay. And Nao?"

"If you say something sentimental, I just might lose my cool. So zip it. A snotty fare-well doesn't suit us."

"I won't say anything, then."

Nao slowly nodded and without another word went in Nina's direction. Natsuki gazed at her retreating back and pulled out a deck of cards out of her pocket. She shuffled through it with one hand and retrieved the Joker and the Ace of spades. Her hand put the deck down and spread out the cards in a fan. Each suit, each number, each face card had somebody behind it. Her memories ran across the small arc, until her gaze landed on the cards she had first put away. For a short while she just looked at them.

After putting the Joker and Ace back, Natsuki shifted her attention to Shizuru. She swallowed and licked her lips. Then the wind reminded her it still wasn't summer and she pulled Shizuru's blanket up. Her cold hands brushed against her beloved's warm cheeks.

"Thanks for taking care of me all this time. I've caused you nothing but suffering, however I hope that these last few months I managed to make up for it, even a little bit. If I could, I wouldn't go. I know that I can be saved with Searrs's technology, but then it won't be me anymore and we're both aware of that. I want to stay my despicable human self till the end, you know. Otherwise, it won't feel right. I would've turned into a cheater.

"Shizuru, I can't ask you to forgive me, only to remember me. I know that there's going to be somebody out there who'll help you out and love you. But not like me, never like me. I'm tired. Also, very, very happy I could tell you all of this. Remember I promised I'll always come back? I'll have to break this one. Instead I'll offer you another promise. I believe that soon I'll meet with mother, Alyssa, Yamada and… everybody. This time I need you also to believe we'll meet again, in the distant future. Just trust in that and live a beautiful life. Smile from the bottom of your heart, even when you're hurt or want to cry."

Natsuki wiped away with her thumb the tears from Shizuru's face.

"I love you. You were always so warm," she whispered and her lids slowly dropped over her eyes. "So warm."

Shizuru quickly reached up and caught Natsuki's cold hand before it could slip off her face. She gave it a squeeze and pressed her lips against it. After that she laid there, eyes closed, and waited for the dawn to come.

_I'll believe in Natsuki._

* * *

**_I know, I know. I'm an evil person, so don't point out the obvious._**

**_Finally, the long ride is over. For the past three years and something I've had the pleasure to write this story for you guys. It started slowly and not very confidently, but I'm glad that I was able to gain such loyal readers and reviewers. I deeply thank you all!_**

**_During the course of the story I learned many things. I leapt through many topics, introduced many problems, and tried to portray different characters. The whole gang plot-line was taken up on nothing more than a whim and I worked with it, but after some research at the university, I discovered that there were some issues from my fan-fic that were spot-on in reality. I was immensely happy back then - everything I wrote about wasn't purely irrelevant. I hope I made this story believable, even if it was an AU. _**

**_Why I had Natsuki die at the end, after I had her saved earlier? She deserved a better closure. With her death she paid for everything she did, as did the other characters, who were closest to her. Mai, Shizuru and Nao's hands weren't clean and with losing a person very important and close to them, I think they have achieved a... closure of sorts. And a new beginning. But that's for you guys to decide._**

**_From the very start I thought long and hard whether the story needs a 'happy-end'. This is the solution I came up with. It may not be perfect, but I'm content with it. I won't change it, no matter the feed-back. I'm sorry if I've missed a plot-point and for those that liked the Bridge terms, I'm sorry I left them fade away. But at the final parts of the story, they weren't needed anymore. _**

**_I want to extend my special gratitude towards Crosswood. Even if she may have stopped reading this story, she is an irreplacable part of it. Without her, I wouldn't have made it this far. Crossy, I'm truly grateful to you for guiding me through the world of fan-fic writing. Thank you!_**

**_And to all my faithful reviewers, who also very considerately dropped a comment after every published chapter, making me write more, thank you! I won't cite pen-names, since you know who you are. You're the reason why this story reached its end._**

**_I love you all and I hope you're not disappointed that you've wasted time with my story. _**

**_Thank you!_**

**_Traffic,_**

**_out._**


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